The Origin of the Uchiha Curse
by OsirisxX
Summary: He knew he was different the moment he realized how much he lacked empathy, however, Izuna had his own way of showing his emotions. With blood and sweat, he devotes his love by creating a mountain of bodies to ascertain his brother's patriarch in the Uchiha Clan. Yes, he was loyal and yes, he loved. Perhaps, that boy, Tobirama was right, perhaps, his love was a curse. AU.
1. Chapter 1: Darkness

**Summary: He knew he was different the moment he realized how much he lacked empathy, however, Izuna had his own way of showing his emotions. With blood and sweat, he devotes his love by creating a mountain of bodies to ascertain his brother's patriarch in the Uchiha Clan. Yes, he was loyal and yes, he loved. Perhaps, that boy, Tobirama was right, perhaps, his love was a curse.**

 **Yes this is an Uchiha Izuna/Tobirama story, and yes, it's AU. This plot is not tied to Chronicles of the White Fang! Read this story independently and with an open mind from the Sakumo story.  
**

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 **The Origin of the Uchiha Curse  
**

 **Chapter One: Darkness**

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Uchiha Izuna was born in the darkness.

A deep, oppressing silence that threatened to suffocate him if he so much as moved. In a way, the threat was very much real when his mother, Uchiha Akane, had later told him, when he was a bit older to understand, about how she laid on the ground during her early stages of labor. She gritted her teeth to hold in her cries and bore with the pain like a true kunoichi. She never made a single sound throughout.

His two eldest brothers sat on either side of her, small hands holding their pained mother with a reassuring innocence that only children could muster. They were the only ones who awaited his arrival to the world with an eager welcoming. When on the other hand, the Uchiha around her, with crimson eyes that swirled ominously, observed her with tensed muscles and twitching fingers towards weapons.

The silence bore down on them heavily. Only broken by the thundering footfalls above them. The shouts and screams that echoed around the alert survivors was a heavy reminder of what was out there, and it was during such a vicious attack, in one of their many hidden strongholds, where his mother was giving birth in. The environment was no place for a mother in labor. The screams of a newborn would echo throughout the underground tunnel and alert the enemy shinobi above. It would have been best to snap his neck before he could even draw his first breath. Kill the newborn before he killed them all. It was during this that Uchiha Tajima, his father, stood steadily. Crimson eyes fixated his fellow subordinates with a level glare that promised death. His pale hands gripped his unsheathed swords with a silent determination to protect his family, no matter what happened. He awaited the arrival of his third-born son with dread and prepared himself for the inevitable cries that would surely be their downfall.

 _'You were molded by it,'_ she had whispered to him soothingly as she had described the events that played out. She had cradled him skin to skin. Breathed lovingly to him with short, soothing words that ordered him not to cry. As if a newborn would ever understand. But she said he had. She told him that she had ran her fingers through the patch of silky black hair and kissed his forehead that was crusted with dry fluids. She held him with a desperation within the ominous silence, and then he took in a few shaky breaths, as if hearing his mother's calls and settled down.

But he knew now that it wasn't her voice that reassured him within the oppressive world that he had born into: it was the darkness. The screams of the dying, the shouts of the murderers, and the explosions that racked the stalactites was enough to startle any newborn baby. However, as Uchiha Akane offered him her milk, he kept calm, knowing on instinct that if he didn't, the ominous hostility that revolved around him would surely get to him too.

It was survival, and he had learned it too well the moment the world screamed before he did.

Finally, she kissed his closed eyelids, prompting him to open them. He did. Obsidian eyes observed the odd figures within the darkness in curiosity. Then with bated breaths, the surviving Uchiha prepared themselves to fight through Tajima or pray that the shinobi above wouldn't hear the cries from below. However, nothing of the sort happened when he gave a few whimpers, caught her finger with one frail hand as it slithered over his throat, and stared into her red gaze and swirling tomoe, unafraid before he finally remained silent. It was as if he knew. Instincts, whether he was conscious of or not, warned him of the consequences. They honed him like a water stone used to sharpen a katana.

When he would ask his mother to remind him of the day he born, he would close his eyes and search the deepest recesses of his mind for those familiar senses. The sense of despair, hate, and bloodshed. It was his favorite story, especially in the times when he would be disciplined. _'Do not feel as if it is a bad thing, to welcome darkness,'_ His mother had once told him, late at night after his father had punished him for disobeying orders. He had not so much as blinked when he received the pain and it had frightened him as much as it had frightened his father.

They just dealt with fear differently.

 _'You were born in a place of no light with darkness as your only embrace.'_ She had traced the beginning signs of bruises around his eyes before she kissed the sensitive flesh with a reassuring smile. _I believe, it is best to become darkness then to adapt to it. That way, you will never concern yourself with who you are or what your purpose is. . . because you already know.'_

She was right in that sense. He learned from a young age, the difference between him and others. Through the flickering glances he would receive when he was, in their words, ' _being less human_ ' to the way his father would ' _teach_ ' him discipline where he lacked in his loose, honest tongue. Rules. Justice that was merely based on the vague concept of human behavior. The social norms that were meant to be followed, was merely an everyday subject to question. Follow the rules. Mimic their emotions. Become someone who you're not because who you are is merely a monster in their eyes.

He wondered if there were others like him. Others who lacked empathy like he did. Others who had to abide by the rules that society influenced onto them. Others who doubted every tradition, every change while everyone around them droned on mindlessly.

 _'You're being too insensitive,'_ his oldest brother, Uchiha Asuya, bit out when they had to inform their neighbor that her husband died.

If only he knew. . .

 _'What a good little weapon I've created,'_ His father mused after he wailed punch after punch without eliciting a response from him. Izuna kept his eyes straight ahead and avoided meeting his father's gaze by staring into Madara's. His brother was forced to watch. It was how their father learned to keep him in line. Izuna didn't mind as long as Madara didn't look away. Those obsidian eyes were his only anchor, and drowning. . . drowning was something he feared most. _'Learn well, Madara, from this example. Look how obediently this emotionless tool takes the punishment that **you** deserve.' _ Shinobi were tools. They were not allowed to feel. _  
_

But he did feel.

He felt so much that it _hurt_.

They just assumed he had no emotions because they were not frivolous and fleeting. He wondered if there were others out there who felt emotions in a much more _devouring_ way. His loyalty, his love. . . it could not be related to or sympathized by others. He understood that those around him were blind to the lengths he went to in order to please those he loved. He went against his very nature to become what they wanted.

If his father wanted an emotionless weapon for a son then Izuna would be what he wanted him to be.

If Asuya wanted him to be more sensitive then Izuna would do as he said.

If his mother said he was darkness himself. . . then Izuna would become darkness.

So instead of explaining what he thought about their social norms, Izuna merely learned how to act. However, there was at least some people out there who cared. People who, despite not understanding him, had merely learned to accept him for who he was because they knew at least one thing about him that was true: his loyalty and love would never waver.

"Look at him. He looks like a girl," a few Uchiha that were a bit older than him spoke up above a whisper. Izuna heard fine without one of them intentionally raising their voice.

"Quiet," another boy quickly reprimanded. "That's Uchiha Izuna."

Izuna's eyes flickered back and forth, observing the hesitating moves of Asuya as he pulled back on his punches and the fierce blows of a quickly, irritated Madara, who landed only a few hits. What was the point of sparring when both were not fighting at their full best? Madara was emotionally unstable and Asuya was hesitant because he cared about the one opposite of him. There was no point. None at all. Madara didn't spar a stronger opponent in order to have them hold back. It was wasteful and irritating.

If only Madara would spar him. Izuna wouldn't hold back. He'd make him bleed, make him cry over broken bones, and Izuna wouldn't show mercy because he loved him. Enough to help him reach his greatest potential of strength.

He ripped more blades of grass.

"I bet I can take him down," the first boy who had spoken said airily. "I heard he was punished by Tajima-sama because he was weak. Without the sharingan he's nothing. I mean, when I was his age I already-"

The sentence died on the boy's lips when Izuna gazed up, locking his obsidian eyes with ones that bled into the Sharingan. Izuna knew weak people when he saw them and the boy who instantly activated his sharingan just by Izuna's glance was enough to reveal that weakness can be disguised by arrogance. He was like a deer at the sight of death to a true sharingan's eye: knowledge of its fate, but powerless to change it.

Izuna ripped more blades of grass and stood up swiftly. "Take me down then," he offered calmly, eyes holding the threatened Uchiha's gaze. He was probably a cousin, a distant relative. Everyone in the Uchiha clan was family one way or another. He felt nothing however. Nothing but a usable human to pass time.

"You've done it now," one of the boy's from his group laughed. The boy looked from side to side, seeming to feel trapped under his arrogant words. Another thing Izuna learned was that most people also felt the need to victimize themselves in a situation they knew they would come out of failing and humiliated. Why did people tend to do that? They corner themselves and try to prove themselves without the confidence to do so.

"Fine," the boy spat out before he strode forward. Izuna eyed the tension of his body that tried very hard to hide the trembling underneath. They stood a few feet away from each other, and they both put up a hand to form the Seal of Confrontation. A tradition the Uchiha clan passed down to the younger generations. It was a way of greeting their sparring comrades with respect. Izuna bowed his head, taking his eyes off of the Uchiha for one second.

He felt the air shift and Izuna rolled forward before pushing himself up into a hand stand in order to kick the Uchiha in the chin. Izuna's obsidian eyes gazed at the two blades in the Uchiha's hands before he whirled his legs outwards in a 'coin flip' move he had seen the merchant gypsies do within their dancing. Then he promptly kicked a kunai out of the Uchiha's grip before grasping it as he whirled to his feet. He placed his hand against his throat while simultaneously flipping the blade in order to stab the hilt down against the Uchiha's other hand. The second blade clattered to the ground and in less than a minute, Izuna had the Uchiha pinned under him. One hand held his throat and the other positioned the knife right up against the scalp.

Crimson eyes gazed up at him in shock. He felt the heartbeat under him move erratically, showing signs of fear. The Uchiha had the right idea in fearing Izuna. He had no boundaries. There was no such thing as right or wrong in his book because such things didn't exist. Those were merely illusions. That was what made him unstable and dangerous in the crimson eyes of his family.

Izuna's lips curved up into a practiced and mastered form of a cheerful, mocking smile. "I assumed that because you have already activated your sharingan, you'd at least be a challenge." He formed the Seal of Reconciliation and watched the Uchiha slowly stand up, looking completely shaken underneath his stoic stature. "Why do you look so scared? Cheer up," he drawled out before his smile died on his lips. "At least now you know what weakness truly means."

"Shut up, you fucking pariah," the Uchiha spat, still refusing to form the seal in order to officially end the spar. "You don't get any privilege within the Uchiha clan just because your Tajima-sama's son! You're the one whose weak without the sharingan. You don't know the things that I have seen. . ."

Izuna's hand slowly fell to his side. His eyes were dark and unreadable. "Lick your wounds," he began. "Before I kill you."

"Izuna." He felt Asuya's presence beside him, tense and alert. He felt the hesitance and withdrawal of him even though his firm grip tightened on his shoulder. "That is enough."

Izuna smiled cheerfully. "Hai, oniisama." He turned to the injured Uchiha and gave a low bow with a smile. "It is best to be wise in this situation." He brought his hand up to form the seal to end the spar before he gazed up to lock his eyes with the swirling tomoe, unafraid. "You never know when the battle will begin again even if it's during a cease fire." This time, all the stoicism in the world couldn't hide the shaking in his hand as the Uchiha rose it to form the Seal of Reconciliation. The spar was officially ended.

When there was no more audience and just three brother's left in the training ground, Asuya quickly turned to him with a glower. "When we are in public, you become an extension of father's reputation. Acting out of your own free will is disgraceful and it will only result in father punishing you once again." Izuna stared at him blankly, and it must have triggered the softer side of Asuya because his eyes lost anger and his words became soothing as he continued, "Izuna, please. Try to be more considerate. I can't protect you from father's wrath yet, but once I'm strong enough-"

This time it was Madara who interjected. "Don't touch him." He ripped Asuya's hand away from his shoulder. Izuna felt the bruising pain across his flesh, a reminder of the rod his father used across his shoulder, but it did nothing to distract him. All he had to do was overcome the obstacle then pain would be nothing. "Izuna has his own reputation to uphold. He did good in showing those weaker than him who was really the superior one among them."

"Respect is not gained with fear," Asuya hissed out. This time his anger and frustration was taken out on Madara. It was easier for Asuya to get a reaction out of him instead of Izuna.

"Yes it is," Madara countered back, eyes blazing. "In this world it is. Those who fear will obey."

"You're sounding just like father!"

Madara's eyes darkened. "Don't compare me to him!" He warned, reaching forward to grasp a handful of Asuya's tunic. "Don't you ever compare me to him."

Izuna's eyes wandered off to the new chakra signature that slowly made its way towards them. It wasn't until the tiny figure was visible that Madara and Asuya noticed as well. They both quickly warmed at the sight of their youngest brother bouncing towards them in an eager skip. "Nii-chan!" Izuna threw on a smile when he was tackled by the little boy. He placed a hand on the soft black hair, observing the way the little chubby face rubbed adoringly against his abdomen. "Nii-chan, can we play?" He vaguely wondered why his sibling always looked to him for permission. Perhaps, in a sense, he looked to him the way Izuna looked to Madara, but he shook that thought away. No one's love could compare to Izuna's.

Madara crossed his arms. "Ninja don't play, Kazuma," he grumbled, looking irritated by the mere idea.

Izuna patted the little boy's head. "Sure," he agreed softly. Madara blanched and gave Izuna one critical stare when he gestured to the two older brothers. "How about ninja tag?" Kazuma's attention was swiftly and strategically switched to Madara and Asuya. "I'll be the enemy," Izuna offered with a smile.

Madara looked even more furious. "I am not playing!"

He kicked Madara in the abdomen. "Tag your it," he sang out. Three brother's watched in shock and humor as Madara was flung back a few feet by force.

Kazuma giggled, hopping up and down with a cheer. "Yay! Ninja tag." While Asuya merely shook his head with one amused smile.

Madara sprang to his feet, eyes blazing in rage. "I'll kill you," he seethed before he sprinted after them.

"Run!" Kazuma shrieked, giving the other two brother's the sign to bolt out of there. They scattered in different places to hide from the now 'enemy' and proceeded to play until dawn. It wasn't until their mother came down into the training ground that they finally stopped. She cradled her swollen belly with one hand while the other carried a small fan. She waved it lazily next to her face innocently, but looks could be deceiving. Before she became the matriarch, their mother was a kunoichi who helped protect Uchiha territory when enemy clans invaded while Uchiha shinobi were away in the front lines. That fan was no ordinary fan and those wary eyes barely concealed the sharingan underneath that hue of obsidian. She was wary even in her own home.

Izuna hopped down a branch after dodging a barrage of Madara's kunai and landed neatly next to his mother. "Why are you here?"

She smiled, not at all offended by his blunt statement. "I wanted to know where my boys were at." She gave a tired sigh and slumped on a tree trunk. "Plus, little Nobura was kicking a lot. He missed you." She rubbed her belly, encouraging him to place his hand on it. He did and not a moment after did he feel that small bump rising under his palm. He leaned closer.

"How do you know that it's a boy?"

"I don't," she grumbled and frowned. "To be honest, love, I really wish for the baby to be a girl, but your father is insistent."

"A sister." He liked the sound of that. Women tended to be more understanding, perhaps a sister would be able to accept him completely like his mother did.

She smiled knowingly. "Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"

"Ka-chan!" Kazuma burst from the underbrush and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, fully intent on tackling their mother without consideration for the delicate bundle inside her stomach. Izuna crossed his arms, ready to trip him, but Asuya came just in time. He shunshinned behind Kazuma and lifted him up with ease. Kazuma's little legs still swung back and forth for a second before he noticed that he was off the ground.

"Not so fast," Asuya scolded before he placed the boy behind his head and onto his shoulders. Madara landed next to Izuna while glaring at the tears on his yukata from Asuya's kunai.

Their mother narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Really, Madara! It's always you!" She beckoned him forward and none to gently grabbed a fistful of the front of his yukata. He frowned and glared straight into their mother's gaze.

"It's not like I ask for it!" He growled out childishly while she examined the rips.

"This is the fifth time that I have to mend your clothes!"

"Well you're a women! It's your job." Izuna wasn't surprised when she hit him upside the head.

"Is that so because from now on, I'm teaching you how to sow. I don't have the time or patience to fix the mess you create nor am I going to spend more money in buying you clothes, you ungrateful little brat!" She whacked him upside the head once again and even though he tried to dodge, mother had years of experience on him.

Madara whined as he rubbed the back of his head, but Izuna didn't really feel sorry for him at the moment.

"You insulted her," he pointed out.

Madara glowered. "I was just stating the truth." He looked at the rips and tears across his sparring clothes before sighing. "This always seems to happen to me."

Izuna looked up to the sky, eyeing the overcast sky. "It was just ninja tag, oniisama." He smirked at the twitching eyebrow on his big brother's face. "So don't take it so seriously. Plus, Asuya's a prodigy and he mastered his sharingan already."

"What's your point?" Madara bit out.

"My point is that you're not," he stated matter-of-factly which earned him a swipe to the head. He dodged of course and turned backwards to face him as they walked to the main house. He eyed the sky one more time, seeing the faint trail of sunlight behind a thin patch of fog and waited patiently for Madara's gaze to catch it. It was always at this time of day when Madara would leave with a faint excuse and not return until late afternoon. He thought, of course, that he was sly enough to evade Izuna, but he always noticed things about his brother. Especially how he would sneak off to go see a Senju boy.

Madara smiled slightly and crossed his hands behind his neck. "You'll see, one day." His gaze flickered to the sky, eyes widening in hope as he pointed his thumb to the small patch of sunlight. "One day, I'm going to change the world. So that you and Asuya and Kazuma and Nobura can live in peace. I'm going to be stronger than even Asuya and tou-sama."

Izuna tilted his head and slowed his walk to a hesitant halt. He'd never seen such happiness in his brother's eyes. It was something rare and welcomed in the bleak territory of the Uchiha. He didn't want it to fade, so he gave a slight smile of his own something that didn't feel so forced. "You really mean that?"

Madara paused and gave Izuna a grin before he ruffled his hair. "Of course I do!" He glanced to the sky once more and turned slightly. "Crap! I'm late!"

Izuna's smile faded. "Where are you going?"

"Um. . ." He turned fully so that his back was to him. "I'm going to go with the other Uchiha to the woods! Kids aren't allowed!"

Before he could stop him, Madara was already headed around a corner towards the direction of the great Kohaku River. It was the river that was the frontier of the Uchiha territory and the Uzumaki territory, but since the Uzumaki were neutral, powerful warriors that treated any passerby of clans as friends rather than foes, it had been hard to guess which clan boy he was meeting. That was until the battles with the Senju began to happen more frequently. He wondered if the Senju clan were visiting the Uzumaki territory, or whether if a clan boy snuck through the territory to visit Madara. Did they know that they were of clans? Did they keep it secret?

"Izuna, why did it take you so long to come from the training grounds?" Came the soft voice of his mother. He looked up to see her petting softly at Kazuma's hair while he slept beside her. "Where is Madara? Did the other Uchiha say mean things again?" Her worried gaze made him move closer. he hopped onto the wooden panels and crossed into the open bedroom that had the view of their courtyard.

"Yes," he lied smoothly. "He went to go give them a lesson."

She smiled. "That's good of him, but he shouldn't always fight your battles. One day, you must stand up to them." She gestured for him to come closer and as he did, her hand latched onto a lock of hair. "You look so beautiful with long hair-"

"Can you cut it?"

She glowered.

"If you don't cut it, I'll just cut it myself."

"Fine," she grumbled and it reminded him of Madara. He sat with his back to her, starring out into the courtyard as locks of hair fell around his lap. He had only followed Madara out once to go see what was going on and found him playing with that Senju boy. They were laughing, talking. He'd never seen Madara so. . . alive. Without the pressure of their father, without the violence instigated by his discipline, without the dull atmosphere of the Uchiha, Madara appeared so carefree. He didn't want to be the one to destroy that. Which was why he lied to mother, which was why he didn't tell his father, which was why he no longer followed Madara. . .

He _did_ care.


	2. Chapter 2: Loss

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! You guys are awesome!  
**

 **Did you notice how unsettling Izuna is? Yeah, well, I've read somewhere that Kishimoto had perceived Izuna to be the opposite of Madara.**

 **Where Madara valued power and control (order, rules, regulations set by him), Izuna valued chaos, and chaos can by an infinite number of things.**

 **Or that's how I perceive it lol.**

 **Another thing!**

 **The first few chapters would be time skips of his childhood to teen years! I will try to make it clear with line breaks and sentences that state or allude to time passing. Also, these are first drafts coming to you with paragraphs slowly added within the little free time that I have. I revise only once before updating, so please overlook the grammar and punctuation mistakes. Thank you.  
**

 **Enjoy!**

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 **The Origin of the Uchiha Curse**

 **Chapter Two: Loss  
**

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"You know he does this because he loves you." The ground herb, which was a remedy passed down through generations of Uchiha, was slathered over the angry mark on his back. The sensation of a cooling mint balm brought shivers through his skin and he reveled in it, loving the way it felt against the heated, sensitive flesh. It was another one of those stubborn bruises that failed to heal within the week, but he wondered which was stubborner: the bruises or his father? Because he had protected Kazuma, his youngest brother, from killing anyone in their last mission of protecting the daimyo's daughter as she traveled from the temple to the mansion by a couple of ninja from the Yuki clan. Of course, he only did so on the request of his mother, who was worried that Kazuma was being sent out to kill to early in his life. He understood her reasoning, although it was a bit irrational. Kazuma wasn't meant for the far. He was too. . . innocent, too forgiving.

"I do." Izuna opened his eyes to stare at his mother through the mirror. She pursed her lips, eyes scrunching as she continued to rub the bruise with the balm. She didn't believe him.

"Men show their love in different ways." She bent slightly to gather more of the balm and swept it up with an elegant grace, even with the protruding belly from her loose robes. She was due to give birth in a few months to another son: a healthy baby boy. She had been a bit disappointed at that. She wanted a boy, but the sharingan eye can detect many things, and the chakra that surrounded the anatomy of a male within her womb was absolute. "In such a cruel world, your father believes this is the best way in order to make you understand that pain is an obstacle. When you feel pain, it should not be all you know. You must move past it and think. You must continue to fight and push pain into the farthest reaches of your mind. Once you do this, you will achieve a strength that no mortal man can so easily achieve."

Izuna continued to stare at the mirror and into his eyes. Deep into the storming hues that showed the cold indifference of his soul. He long understood pain and embraced it. He also understood his father's pain, watched it in the way it would flicker in his eyes with each cry he and his brothers would emit when he punished them. He understood it in the silent conversation he would have with mother. When he would seek mother's comfort as he questioned his role as a father and his ways in trying to make them fill the shoes of a man before it was too late.

Because soon, they would be unsupervised in the battles between the rivaling territories. Their father would not be there to protect them, and Asuya would not be there to look after them. He, Madara, and Kazuma would be alone, expected to fulfill the duties a shinobi of the Uchiha clan must fulfill.

And soon, his brother or sister, inside his mother's womb, shall be added into their cheerful family of seven.

"There is no telling with this world and what it has in store for us, but when your father passes, it will be either Asuya, Madara, you, or Kazuma, or our unborn that will fit the role of patriarch to this clan. He's doing what must be done in order to make all of you into true leaders."

"I have no wish to become a leader of this clan." Izuna continued to stare at his mirror image as he spoke, watching the words being echoed back to him as his lips moved. "I will never wear a crown or adorn anything that will put me in a higher pedestal than those I fight with." His gaze narrowed. "My skills will be a testimony to that. My strength will be the only thing that will remind those as to why I should be feared and respected. I don't need a materialistic title to grant me the image of a leader because I am who I am." His hands balled into fists. "And the Uchiha and all those surrounding us will know."

"Spoken like a true leader." A kind smile of his mother was granted to him as she kissed the top of his head.

but she didn't understand.

He didn't want to be the leader.

He wanted to be the only one who could take down the leader. He wanted to be equal in strength to the leader, and the only leader he wished to follow, wished to be equal to, was Madara.

Asuya, as much as he loved his oldest brother, would never be leader. He was too kindhearted, too lenient. He himself never even wanted to pursue the shinobi art of war and death. He was an artist at heart; a soul that wished for peace and quiet.

But in this world, there was no peace and quiet.

Footfalls echoed down the hallway towards them, but neither he or his mother moved or rushed in any way. She merely ordered Izuna to sleep on his stomach so that he wouldn't smear the coated herb on his wound, and Izuna gave a curt nod just as the paper door slid to reveal his father.

His father was coated in dried blood and his gaze, drooping in exhaustion wandered from the prepared futon, to his wife, and then to his child, who was sitting before the mirror. Izuna never removed his gaze from his own that stared back at him. It was eerie to say the least.

This was how Izuna looked like to the rest of the world, solemn and reserved. Not a single mar on his skin that showed evidence of countless smiles or wrinkles like his father. Because his father did smile, and he did worry. For him and his brothers and his mother. He worried constantly, every single day, that when he would leave the territory, it would be the last day he would ever see them again.

"You spoil Izuna too much." They looked up towards the intruding voice. His father stood there, looking wary and a bit ragged from patrolling across the frontier of Uchiha territory. He had been gone for three days and much of his raging energy had disappeared now that he stood there looking like he wanted to rest.

It was his mother who spoke first with a sly smile on her lips. "Is that a crime?" She asked innocently. Her grey eyes observed the Uchiha man with an endearing smile. She turned to Izuna and patted his rump with affection as he stood. "Go on now, Izuna. Me and your father. . . have something to talk about."

Izuna followed her orders and passed by the both of them in silence, but he was stopped by a calloused hand on his shoulder. He stood still waiting for the expected affection, and it came as quickly as it left when his father's hand curled around his neck to hold his head as he bent to kiss the top of his head. He then ruffled his hair as Izuna stepped quicker towards the door.

He turned back to pull the door closed in order to give them a sense of privacy, and as he did so, Izuna observed the way they drew together in slow movements like a moth to a flame. His father knelt down, brushing his fingers over his mother's cheek, never once breaking eye contact. And as Izuna shut the door, the memory of their lips touching stained his mind with wonder.

If there was one thing his father taught him in that moment, then it was that monsters loved too.

* * *

The day Nobura born, the newest addition to his family, was the day Nobura died alongside their mother.

He and his brothers waited in the dead of night outside of their parent's bedroom, listening to her screams and his father's tense voice. There was running and shouting, women and healers running in and out of the room while his brothers and he waited outside in the open corridor that overlooked their mother's personal garden.

Kazuma cried silently in Asuya's arms, not understanding the meaning behind her screams or the concept of what it meant for a woman to birth a child and all the dangerous consequences during childbirth. It was a beautiful and terrifying moment for a mother, or that was what Izuna's mother had told him. Izuna was standing in the garden, eyeing the frozen pond.

He found it beautiful, how winter could freeze nature in time. How water, so ever constantly moving could be controlled by a force of nature greater than it. Winter was his and his mother's favorite time of year. Madara didn't understand. He would shiver and wrap himself in his outer coat and would tell him that he's crazy, but Izuna would merely smile because Madara was just different in that aspect.

He loved winter because it reminded him of himself. He could control every aspect of his body and emotions. he could control the inflicted reactions from outer forces. He could control pain, pleasure, and anger. He could fuel his anger and increase his stamina. He could block out pain and think three steps ahead of his enemies, and when he experimented with himself, out of curiosity, he found that he could control his heights of pleasure.

He was his own God.

As how nature was its own unstoppable force against all of them.

But sadness, as he learned that day, was something he couldn't stop.

The screams had died down to sobs, and suddenly there was a still silence that flooded the main household within the Uchiha compound. Guards posted at every exit watched with wide eyes as they waited the news of their matriarch and her newborn.

There was no cries of a newborn filling his lungs for the first time. There was no laughter of his mother as she would embrace her child. There was nothing but an eerie silence that followed the sobs of his distressed mother. The kind of sound that a child would never be able to forget, especially for Izuna. Because as much as he didn't see eye to eye, he loved his mother. His mother was dear to him, and he respected her, but he respected the truth more. . . something that didn't affect his mother.

 _"You're my child, Izuna. You and your brothers are my entire world. Your beliefs and your views are my world, and as much as I may not understand the special way you think, I will forever love you."_

Izuna heard the sharp scratching of the paper door being pulled to the side.

"Tajima-sama. . . Please, you will only hurt yourself further. . ."

Izuna turned then, pushing the disbelief and the hope aside because it was nonsense. They were merely obstacles from the truth, and the truth was the evidence before him. The still body of his mother behind his father as he slowly stepped out into the cool night air and the way they draped a white sheet over her in silent mourning.

The evidence in the newborn being cradled in his arms as he stepped down the hallway into the snow with his bare feet. He observed the way his brothers ran inside, frantically calling to a lifeless body whose soul was no longer there.

Izuna stepped forward and watched with cold, indifferent eyes as his father knelt on the snow. His gaze was nowhere in particular. It held nothing but a darkness of two lost souls that meant everything to him. "This time," his father began. "This time it's okay." He held the body closer to him as he bowed his head. He watched as the drops of tears melted the snow it landed on, and Izuna stepped back.

He turned.

 _No._

He began to step through the snow towards the woods.

He refused to listen to his father's exception. Izuna would be what his father had wanted him to be. A good, emotionless tool. He would hold that image until he was out of site. He would hold his image.

"Izuna," his father called, but he ignored him.

Shinobi don't cry before monsters. He won't cry before him. He won't allow it. He flooded chakra into his senses and body flickered out of his site. He landed harshly within the forest, feeling the emotions well up. They boiled fervently within his heart as he tried to compose himself, but he couldn't.

There was just so much he could bottle up before he exploded, and he did. Something akin to a roar was released from his chest as he flooded chakra into his fists and pounded against the ground. This sadness. . . This hate. . . It was destructive. It was poison, and when someone was poisoned they had to willingly open the wound to let it bleed out, and he did. He bled the wound out with tears and bloody fists until the snow was a crimson below him and the sky was a darkness above him.

He sat there until the light flooded the forest floor through the frozen canopy of skeleton trees above. He didn't know how long, but it was long enough to have his father send someone for him.

"Izuna, you have to come home. It's urgent." Of course he would send Madara. The only capable person of convincing him to do something.

He pulled his forehead off of the snow and slumped back, cheeks numb to the cool night air. "I don't want to be there for the funeral."

"I know. . ." He heard the footsteps close in towards him. They were sure, steady. Madara was the only one who could approach him surely. His mother had been as well. . . while others walked up to him as if he was a feral animal. "But it's not that. We're being called out to extend our territory close to the Hagoromo clan. We're going to war." Izuna narrowed his gaze. Already? He wanted to laugh at the entire situation because war never waited for anyone. It didn't give anyone time to emotionally prepare themselves.

Death was a natural cause whether it be by birth or by kunai.

It was just humans who rushed or interfered with it.

He stood, feeling his bones and stiff muscles crack as he finally stretched. "So be it." He lifted his gaze, only allowing his brother to see his moment of weakness. The red rimmed eyes, with constricted pupils surrounded by a halo of storming grey.

Madara nodded, his obsidian eyes following his own. "Izuna, I'll protect you." His voice was shaken as his eyes drifted to the red snow. "I. . . If I lose another. . . If I lose you, I won't know what to-"

"I won't die yet." His fists shook as he moved forward before hugging his older brother around the middle. "You won't die either."

His older brother stiffened before him unsure of what to do before he patted his head. "Yeah, I promise." And as much as promises were merely words bound by a mortal who could die at any second, Izuna believed him. Somewhere, deep in his soul, he felt as if he could trust Madara's words.

Because through war and death, Madara had somehow stayed like a pillar of hope. He was there when his father punished him, he was there when children picked on him, and he was there to help him grow stronger.

Why shouldn't he be there forever? He knew, deep down, that if Madara were to die, he'd rage hell. Against himself, against those who killed him, against the whole world. That was how deep his love was. It was consuming, and he never wished it on another poor soul. The same could be said if fate was twisted around. He was already disordered by nature. Who knew what man he'd be if he lost his brother to war.

"We'll be leaving tomorrow."

Izuna looked back to see Madara slowing down as they headed back to the compound. Something about Madara's posture as he looked back to the forest had his gaze narrowing. He couldn't be thinking-

"Hey, I forgot something back there." He began to turn around. "You go on ahead."

"I'll go with you," Izuna tested.

"No, just go, and don't wait for me."

Izuna paused when Madara looked back to make sure Izuna was listening to his order. Izuna gave a half shrug and began to walk the distance away, and once Izuna was out of sight, he turned back against the tree, feeling for Madara's chakra as it was completely masked so that Izuna couldn't track him. Unlike Madara, who couldn't sense chakra when it was close yet, Izuna had mastered it.

With suspicions confirmed, Izuna waited for Madara to get a head start before he decided to follow. izuna really didn't know why he was following. He held no grudges against the Senju, and for that reason, as well as for the sake of Madara, he didn't tell his father. It would be like betraying Madara.

As he neared the Kohaku River, Izuna made sure that his chakra was fully masked before he skillfully weaved through the forest. The rush of the raging river as well as one-sided laughter echoed in the forest. Izuna peaked through the foliage to see Madara staring down at the rocks as he neared the boy who was sitting down on the other side of the river, looking as if he had been waiting for a while.

The dark skinned boy had stood up, laughing and waving for Madara to cross the river, and Izuna watched as the boy gave him comfort where Izuna couldn't. Izuna climbed up on a tree to get a better view of the boys as they sat in comforting silence, and as his back pressed against the bark of the tree, he thought of his mother and of his unborn sibling that was probably being buried alongside his mother. Izuna lifted his knees up, circling his arms over them.

From where he was he could hear the soft comfort that the Senju boy was giving to Madara, and Izuna slowly eased away from the two boys, wondering if Madara saw the Senju more as a brother than a friend. How long would their friendship last? One would only know when their friendship would be tested as soon as they figured out each others identity.

Something close to understanding reached him then. Izuna knew that against all odds, Madara would always choose the clan: he would choose Izuna, and that was when the test was never there to begin with. Until the war between the Senju and Uchiha stopped, until the grudge between the clan members stopped, and until peace was finally reached, until then and only then would the Senju and Uchiha finally live in peace.

* * *

"Kazuma," Izuna breathed harshly towards the boy who was making too much noise behind him. In the deathly silence of the forest, Kazuma flinched, kunai poised in a shaking grip by his small fingers. His other hand slowly let go of the bunched up shirt within his fingers, and he stepped back.

"I'm sorry."

Izuna smoothed out his wrinkled shirt, eyeing the boy for a moment before he decided to take the best course of action: comforting him. "Come here." He knelt down, opening his arms as an invitation, and Kazuma didn't hesitate to envelop himself against him, shaking uncontrollably. He didn't understand Kazuma's irrational fear.

This was his first war, but then again, this wasn't _the_ first war. He should have known that their father would make him do this. It was bound to happen. This test, it was to make him into a shinobi, and he should have prepared himself just like Izuna had prepared.

But something about his little brother reminded him of Asuya. It wasn't the fear that had Kazuma crying, it was the way he looked so out of place, here, within the eerie forest. Like Asuya, Kazuma didn't belong here. He didn't belong in the war, he was too. . . soft. He was too good. Izuna wanted him and Asuya to be protected forever.

And he knew that the only thing immortal in the world was death.

"Kazuma, we can't stay in one place for too long." Izuna pulled back slightly and wiped his thumbs against the rims of his little brother's eyes. "Don't worry. I'll make sure nothing happens to you here."

"B-But I don't want to kill." The boy looked stricken. It seemed that mother had coddled him for too long. It was time for him to understand the reality of the world he born in. No more illusions. No more protection. Mother wasn't here anymore, and he had to protect himself.

"It's not about wanting." Izuna's eyes narrowed as he stood. "It's not about anything but the fact that we were ordered to, and until you're strong enough to resist orders then do as you're told." Kazuma shuddered and moved forward. His shoulders sagged further as if he was curling in on himself, but to Izuna it seemed like a sign of acceptation, however reluctant it was. "Now hurry up."

"What did they even do?"

"You know what these merchants did."

"B-But. . . I don't understand why they deserve to die."

"No one deserves anything. More or less anything that is provided in human punishment or justice. They're merely going to die because father says so." Izuna glanced back. "By our hand."

Kazuma sniffed. "Why are you so calm about this? You're always so calm. . . about everything." He wiped away at his eyes. "Even to ka-chan's death."

Izuna didn't so much as flinch by his words, but his hand tightened around the handle of his kunai. "I'm calm because I don't question. It's not necessary." Izuna stared back to his little brother, and suddenly, he gave a smile. A slight curl of the corner of his lip that was mockingly intimidating. "I already know the ways of this crude world." He beckoned him forward with a shake of his head. "From now on, don't speak, just do as I say and follow my move."

They slinked deeper into the forest, with Izuna tracking ahead, looking for signs of disturbance through the forest. It was three people judging by the three pairs of footprints following in the same direction. He moved a hand forward to have Kazuma crouch behind him as Izuna pressed two fingers against the floor. He closed his eyes and concentrated his chakra to flow towards his hearing and nose. Kazuma knew to stay quiet during this since Izuna had practiced these skills all the time during ninja tag.

There was shuffling to his right and he tilted his head, focusing on the noise. However, he quickly dismissed it when the fast scattering of a squirrel began to curl around the bark before jumping to another tree. The tension in his shoulders didn't leave as he continued to scan the perimeter. Then he felt it. The presence of the merchants was stiflingly easy to find. They laughed crudely and the tinkling and bumping of objects had him predicting that they were enjoying a fine night of drinking their stomachs full of sake.

They were celebrating.

After giving information to the Senju about the location of a hideout that belonged to the Uchiha, they were now celebrating the pockets of coin that rattle noisily in their pockets. The hideout, of course, had been attacked. At it's most vulnerable, since the Uchiha shinobi were not there, the hideout was destroyed in less than an hour. Women, children, and the elderly were slaughtered. The merchants that had been there were also slaughtered due to associating business with the Uchiha. His clan had lost about half of the generation that would come after them.

It was why his father had sent Kazuma to deal with them, and he had sent Izuna to oversee it. He believed that Izuna would make sure that Kazuma would go through with it. He was right about that, but Izuna willingly went for another purpose. The gold that the Senju gave them. After he killed them, he'll take the coins for himself. Perhaps buy himself and Madara better swords. "Found them." He pushed off the ground and began to soundlessly track through the forest until they were ten meters away. Even if they were one meter away, the drunk merchants wouldn't be able to detect him. He turned back to his trembling brother. "You will go straight ahead, and I will flank them." He paused, narrowing his eyes as his little brother swallowed dryly with a nod. "I will not be assisting you in the kills. You will shed the blood on your own."

Kazuma gave a nod. "Okay."

Izuna turned back around and began to curve away from him. He moved around the merchants who were staring at the campfire, talking about how, perhaps, maybe they should not have betrayed the Uchiha. They should have thought about that before. A few gold of coins wouldn't save them from the inevitable. Izuna placed a hand on the handle of his sword before he made the first move. He pushed out from behind the shadows and deliberately moved behind one merchant.

He stepped out, tilting his head, and startling the merchants.

"Y-You are?"

He slowly withdrew his sword. "Uchiha Izuna."

"I-Izuna?" One of them whispered, wide eyed.

"It's just a little, Uchiha boy," one of them scoffed as he also unsheathed his sword.

Izuna's smile curved into a smirk, taking notice of the one who actually recognized his name. This man seemed to be a companion of the other merchants. Perhaps, he was a regular merchant for the Senju. One who heard rumors being traded near his stand, and if there was one thing that the Senju loved to gossip about then it was the Uchiha.

"N-No, he's not just any boy-"

Izuna's gaze wandered further behind him to where Kazuma was holding his sword with two hands. He let out a premature battle cry and jumped forward, driving his sword through one of the merchant's back. Kazuma then withdrew his sword in a twirl and shunshined forward in order to catch up to the second one. Izuna turned his back to Kazuma's struggles and casually moved towards the locked chest. he drove the sole of his shoe down and broke the lock off.

He then flipped the chest open to see different kinds of silk. He continued to dig through,hands latching onto a pouch filled with coins. "Are you finished, Kazuma?" He turned slightly to see Kazuma breathing harshly as he knelt on top of his last corpse's chest with his sword down the man's throat.

"Y-Yes."

Izuna slipped the money into his back pouch and gave a smile. "Then let's go." He opened a scroll and began to draw the storage seal on it. "We should take the bodies back as well as the wagon." Izuna nodded towards the merchant goods. It was no use leaving it to waste within the middle of the forest. "Get on top of the wagon and steer the horses."

"What about you?"

Izuna gave another smile that eased the tension off of Kazuma's shoulders. "Don't worry about me." Kazuma gave a slow nod and began to do as he was told. When Izuna was finished sealing the corpses in the scroll, he slowly rolled the scroll back up. His eyes scanned the clearing, drifting over the chakra that flared lowly in the distance before he looked to the fire.

He kicked dirt over it, separating the embers in order to suffocate them before he slowly began to follow behind Kazuma as he steered the wagon. The chakra slowly neared, and Izuna tilted his head downwards to take a look at the smudged blood on his shoes. If they were going to follow them, then they should have done a better job at it.

Sending a kid to the front lines of a trap. That was their first mistake, but then again, his own father had used Kazuma and him as bait as well. This, after all, was more then just a passing whim of revenge. This was all. . . part. . . of the plan.

The chakra that was following him at a distance was instantly snuffed out as soon as Izuna passed by the destination point. Izuna tried to listen through the silence within the forest, but there was no footsteps, there was no passing wind or light breaths. The only sign that an army was hiding out, waiting for an ambush was the silence of the owls, as they too waited with held breaths.

"Kazuma?" Izuna called out.

"Hm?" He could hear the heaviness in his hum, and Izuna gave a slight smile even though Kazuma couldn't see it.

"What do you think are our limits?"

"Limits?" His brother echoed. "I think. . . we don't have limits. That's why. . . That's why there's war, isn't there? We fight to test our limits."

Izuna stayed silent, contemplating his words.

"Wh-What do you think?"

"I think we do have one limit. It's ultimate and it's pure." Izuna placed a hand on his sword. "Do you want to know what it is?" He asked lightly.

"Yes."

"It's simple really."

"What is it?"

"Death." Izuna shunshined quickly, landing before Kazuma as he unsheathed his sword. Kazuma's gaze widened as Izuna swiped his sword forward, blocking the steel from coming inches close to his little brother's neck. He felt his gaze enhance, swirl ominously as his perspective of the world changed into it's most truest form of bloodshed and despair; black and white.

The Senju's gaze widened.

"And I think," Izuna began as he slid under the man's shoulder to drive his sword up into his armpit. Blood spurted over his pale skin. "Death is the reason why we have wars. No one is satisfied."

"Izuna!" Kazuma sprang forward into action, catching a man by surprise as he threw his sword forward, impaling the man who could have killed Izuna. His brother breathed heavily right as sound echoed into the night. War cries and flashes of steel echoed across the darkness.

It seemed his father had been right after all. The Senju had their eyes on the merchants, knowing that the Uchiha would approach them for revenge. What the Senju didn't expect was the Uchiha knowing that they'd be hiding in the night. It was something that their father had told Madara and Izuna: One must know their enemy as much as they know themselves.

Izuna crouched forward, cupping the back of Kazuma's head whose eyes were wide and glossy. "I-I could have d-died."

"I had my eyes on you, but you must be aware of your surroundings at all times. I won't always be here to protect you." Kazuma nodded and Izuna let go of him before he grabbed the reigns of the horses. "Hold on, we're supposed to take this to Asuya and Madara, protecting the camp."

Izuna slapped the reigns, bringing the horses to a sprint. They neighed in protest, but the adrenaline and the fear of danger all around them took hold. Izuna flooded chakra against the soles of his feet, gluing himself to the wagon as the rocky terrain brought the wagon to an unsteady pace.

The friction between two metals echoed across the forest ground sounding closer and closer despite the resistance that the Uchiha kept with the Senju. Could it be that they were losing? They were closing the distance to the camp grounds, following the sound of neighing horses and an unstable wagon. Izuna looked behind to the covers that were draped over the back of the wagon. What was in here? That his father had urged him to retrieve?

Izuna looked back to the road. Whatever it was, it was important enough to have the Senju chase after it, deeper into Uchiha territory.

"Izuna! Watch out!"

With a flare of chakra, Izuna looked to the spine of one of the sprinting horses, flooding chakra into his system as he zipped through the air to land on the back of the horse's black coat. He didn't land as neatly as he wanted to. The technique had happened after he had seen a couple crows disperse, hiding momentarily from his sight, and once he found the crows again, perched on another tree, Izuna was awed by their flickering presence. One moment they were there, and the next they were behind him. He then tried to coat his body in a thin layer of chakra in order to achieve a sort of body flicker that would transport him from one place to the other, but instead he managed to merely enhance his speed enough to dodge. Even that was taxing. He breathed heavily, clutching at the strain on his side. If he wasn't careful, he'd rupture an organ or worse, an eye, with the flood of chakra.

"What the-"

Izuna took that chance to strike. Careful was past the point of being followed in a world of disorder. He flickered forward, slicing his blade clean through the man's intestines right in time to see Kazuma being kicked off of the wagon by another Senju. Kazuma rolled across the floor, left behind instantly by the pounding hooves that smothered him with dust.

Izuna's gaze flashed back to the man who was pulling out a scroll. Activating the scroll in seconds, Izuna only had a moment to dodge the oncoming kunai that exploded forward. One caught him in the shoulder, but due to flickering out of the scroll's range, he was left more or less unscathed. . . until he coughed up blood.

Well, maybe from now on he should be careful. Transporting without any seals as a safe drawback was as difficult as activating jutsus without using hand seals. If he wanted to make this transportation thing to work, he'd have to be alive to do it.

With that settled, Izuna watched from the side, as he landed horizontally on a tree, as the kunai instead pierced through the horses. They collapsed to the ground, flipping the wagon over. Izuna took the chance to flood chakra to the soles of his feet, springing forward after the Senju, who lost his balance. Izuna grasped his flak jacket and threw him across the road with his enhanced strength. He then settled for the familiar hand signs, weaving through him before he lifted his index finger to his mouth.

" _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu._ " Chakra seamed through his jutsu flawlessly as the massive ball of fire shot forth, burning the Senju and everything in its wake. His gaze then shot towards where Kazuma had been left behind. He raced across the forth, ignoring the shouts of the Uchiha that yelled for him to fall back.

He could sense his chakra. It was flickering weakly, but he wasn't the only one there. Izuna pivoted to the left as senbon was flung in that direction, but his efforts were meaningless when several kunai was used to deflect the attacks.

An Uchiha kin, fell beside him, red gaze giving him a sidelong glance before it stared ahead, and there he was, Kazuma, laying on the floor.

He was bleeding.

The fall from the wagon had injured him.

"Kazuma-"

The Senju before him raised his sword and pierced through the weak armor, straight to his chest.

Izuna halted, a few feet away from the Senju, eyes wide as he took the image before him and engraved it into his mind with a dull kunai.

"You bastard!" The older Uchiha beside him shot forward as Izuna skidded across the dirt on his knees to land beside Kazuma. He lifted him slightly, putting pressure on a wound that was fatal. Izuna felt Kazma's heartbeat slow, and with each slow beating of his heart, Izuna felt the burning in his gaze. The image of Kazuma, his little brother, trying to breathe through a mouthful of blood.

"Kazuma."

He felt like blinking. It hurt not to blink, but he knew he couldn't. He cradled his little brother's head, held his gaze through it all as Kazuma tried to speak through the pain, the blood. When that failed, he clutched Izuna's hand, feeding his fear through Izuna with an embrace that would never last forever.

"Don't worry."

It hurt not to blink, but he did anyway, and when he did, he felt the consequences as something hot trailed down his cold cheeks.

"I'm here, Kazuma."

Kazuma nodded and coughed more blood, but the fear in his gaze lessened.

Izuna felt his gaze heighten. He saw the specks of dirt that slowly settled to the ground, saw the life fade from his brother's gaze as he tried desperately to hold onto the comfort of Izuna's own.

He saw everything.

He felt everything.

The warmth of crimson coating the hand that tried to hold his brother's organs together, the lose of strength in Kazuma's hand as it fell to the side, the cold tears that trailed from Kazuma's dead gaze to seep into Izuna's clothing, and the same coldness leaving his own gaze as he seared the memory to heart.

"We have to go. We have to go now." He felt a pair of hands pull him away from his brother, and he let them. He stood with a calmness that puzzled even him, and he glanced up, just in time to see several Uchiha landing before him to block attacks from the Senju. "Come child," the Uchiha pulled him again, and moved to Izuna's right to block a sword from aiming towards him.

They were targeting the children on purpose.

Clan children in the battlefield were flashing targets, but never before had it been an urgency in the Senju. It meant that the Senju had lost children of their own, decreasing their generation, which meant that they had to do the same to their rivaling clan, so that they too suffered heavy losses.

Izuna blinked and it was as if he was replaying Kazuma's death over and over.

Over and over.

Over and over.

But all that could be seen by the Senju and Uchiha was the expressionless face of a boy whose crimson eyes blazed in the night, mirroring the pool of blood that formed as a halo around his brother's body.


	3. Chapter 3: In Exchange

**A/N: Tobirama and Izuna will be soon, my friends, soon. . .  
**

* * *

 **The Origin of the Uchiha Curse**

 **Chapter Three: Discovered**

* * *

Many were killed in action the day Kazuma was murdered.

Asuya was among them.

During the whole disarray, when Izuna was lead back to the base after the Senju had fallen back, he was told of Asuya's heroic death. How when he was stabbed in the gut by several Senju, who pinned him in place, he revealed several explosives. It was a suicide technique that those with the sharingan had to use in order to prevent the secrets of their dojutsu from being revealed. There was no trace of his or any Senju's body caught in the blast.

They preached about his death being heroic or that he had died with honor, but Izuna didn't believe that. Death was always gruesome, bloody, disturbing, embarrassing. There was no dignity in death. One lived with dignity, no one died with it. Izuna didn't understand the concept of romanticizing an eventual circumstance. Although he didn't say it out loud.

Kazuma's body, however, was recovered. Izuna refused to let any of the Uchiha carry him. It wasn't because he couldn't accept the fact that his little brother was dead. Izuna had come to terms with it the moment Kazuma gave his last breath.

No.

It was because Kazuma was his brother, and he had failed to keep a promise. It was a mistake on his part. Why did he promise something that he couldn't keep? Was that his flawed revelation of actually having his humanity? Did he fail in judgement of his abilities or was it an irrational part of him? A human part of him that had merely spoken the words in the spur of the moment.

He wasn't as different as the others as he had first thought.

He loved. He didn't understand the frivolous feelings of others. It as his lack of empathy, but for a moment, he felt something break inside of him. His sharingan. . . From now on, his sharingan would be a reminder of his humanity.

Whenever he would feel himself slipping. Whenever he felt the darkness warping around him, this time, he'd have his sharingan to pull him out.

His sharingan proved that he loved his family. Kazuma. Asuya. Mother. They were gone. It was too late to admit it to them, too late to show them that he did care.

He slowed his steps as soon as they entered the base. He glanced up, seeing the Uchiha pull in the sturdy wooden crates that had survived the crash of the wagon and load the weaponry that had spilled from those that didn't into another set of crates. They had fought the Senju for weapons that belonged to the Senju. He wasn't strong enough. He wasn't recognized enough to be told the details of the mission underneath the mission. He was only told to supervise Kazuma's first kill of the merchants. They had used them.

Kazuma was dead in his arms now. Perhaps it was for the best. Izuna's gaze glanced over his brother's pale face. It was peaceful, coated in dry blood, with eyes slightly open, staring unseeingly to the sky. No matter how many times he had tried to close his brother's eyes, they would slowly open of their own accord. Were they blaming him? Kazuma was the opposite of Izuna? He expressed his feelings so openly and freely, but as he looked at those dull, lifeless eyes, Izuna couldn't help but hate them. The body no longer inhabited anything warm. It was cold. It was dead. Kazuma. . .

Kazuma was never coming back. . .

"Izuna."

His gaze traveled to the man he called a father. He was a father in his own way, but in other situations, he was patriarch of the clan first. His father was holding Izuna's gaze, and in a moment of silence, he could see several emotions flicker in his father's gaze as Izuna watched his father slowly move down to take Kazuma from his hold.

Izuna's gaze moved past his father to the boy slightly behind him.

Madara was staring, shell shocked at Kazuma's body before his eyes moved up to meet Izuna's. Izuna was wounded, tired, and he felt the continuous oozing of the crimson seeping out of the wound where the embedded kunai was still in place. His shoulder was burning and he felt hot all over, but he refused to put Kazuma down.

He felt the presence of the Uchiha circling around them in understanding as they silently mourned the death of the youngest in the Uchiha clan. Izuna was the youngest of the clan now, and until a woman of their clan gave birth, he'd continue to be so.

At this moment, any person in their situation would have asked what happened and what lead to Kazuma's death, but Izuna's eyes were enough. Kazuma's death was caused by the Senju, and it was traumatizing enough to lead to Izuna activating his sharingan. Was that why he could see so clearly? The pain and anger that rotted this world was so vividly clear. He was given a new perception. What could Izuna do now with these eyes?

As he looked to Madara and as Madara looked to him, he knew. He knew that with these eyes, he'd protect his brother. His father pulled Kazuma's body from his hands, and he lifted the boy easily before turning around. Izuna followed tiredly to the bigger body wrapped in cloth. He knew this scent.

"From now on," his father began. His voice was rough from grief, but it held strong. "You have only each other." His father placed Izuna beside Asuya. Their oldest brother was dead, and their only enemy here had been the Senju.

Izuna blinked slowly at his father's words. The man didn't need to assure Izuna of that fact. Madara had always been the one he would be loyal to. He was the only one now that he could trust with his life.

"Madara, you protect your family, and no matter what, you protect your brother. When I'm gone, he will be your only family besides the clan. Keep the duty of the firstborn in mind." Their father stood to gaze at both of them. "Izuna, as the second born, your duty is to be loyal. Your brother will go through many trials. Only the strongest becomes patriarch of the clan, and your brother will be challenged by many. It is your duty to protect and to serve. Your loyalty will be the only thread of trust to hold your brother together."

From his peripheral vision, he could see Madara's gaze. It was hardening in resolve. Fists enclosed tightly in determination. His silly brother from before was gone, and a new one, a better one took his place.

"Do you understand?" Their father asked.

Madara bowed his head. "Hai. No matter what, I'll protect Izuna, and in turn, the Uchiha."

"No matter what happens, I'll only be loyal to Madara, and in turn, I'll be loyal to the Uchiha," Izuna spoke calmly, but he didn't bow his head. Not when his father was only eyeing him carefully rather than Madara. "As long as Madara is alive, then so will my loyalty thrive."

Izuna smiled mockingly, and the piercing gaze of his father narrowed further in warning.

It was as if at that moment, it was Izuna who was finally revealing his true self.

It had been a while since he no longer hid himself expertly behind fake smiles and laughs. The only reason he pretended was because his father and mother had conditioned him so. The Uchiha had begun to notice his oddity, and so his father had made it seem that it was just Izuna who was acting out.

His father, of course, knew all along of Izuna's warped thinking. He was his father after all, and it was only through punishment and abusive love that had Izuna's warped thoughts be directed to loyalty.

Was it conditioning?

It was.

His father wanted to make sure Izuna had someone to love and protect in this world where Izuna held no ties within their traditional norms. So when he whipped his back with a chain, his father made sure Izuna held onto Madara's gaze. When he punished Izuna, his father made sure Madara was always watching.

His father was a monster, but he became the monster in order to make sure, in a disturbing way, that his sons would stay loyal to each other in such a cruel world. Especially in Izuna's case, where he thought emotions and vague misconceptions in the world were frivolous unless it were his own.

If he loved, he loved fiercely.

If he hated, he hated fiercely.

And if he was loyal, he would be loyal until his last dying breath.

* * *

Madara didn't leave his side for an entire week.

They were both walking in each others shadow, and they were both becoming stronger. Izuna could feel it in his speed and in his agility, and he saw it in Madara's taijutsu and ninjutsu. Even without his sharingan, Madara was still above all the children.

Whispers of Madara circulated around the Uchiha village. Madara was a prodigy who was able to kill skilled adult Senju even without a sharingan, and Izuna even heard rumors of himself as well. He was using his sharingan to predict Madara's attacks, but instead of dodging, Izuna was using it for blocking and observing vulnerabilities in Madara's strikes by countering them with his own.

At first, Madara was irritated, but it was a different kind of frustration. With Asuya, Madara would be angered when their oldest brother wouldn't put in his all into the fight because he didn't want to hurt Madara. Izuna was different. He was brutal in a spar. He caught onto every weakness and every sloppy posture, and when he would land his blows and strike Madara down, it would be Izuna's way of showing Madara how to better himself.

He wanted to help Madara become better, and as Madara benefited from is aid, so did Izuna.

Izuna, at first, had been able to predict Madara's movements, but he couldn't match his speed. He spent every day running without using his chakra, but it didn't seem to help him improve much. He had looked to his father for advice, and his father had taken him to the Uchiha library that was prohibited by all except the elders and the patriarch of the clan. There, he had showed him a simple book of what they knew of fuinjutsu.

Of course, Izuna and Madara, as children from the main family, were taught how to read and write in kanji, but never had they looked to kanji in order to make seals. Kanji served as the foundation of seals, and fuinjutsu was the use of specialized seals that had their own preference in categorical effects, such as, mass, time, density, range, etc. It was up to the seal master to arrange that specified effects to their own preference. Of course, most clans knew basic seals like storage seals, chakra suppression seals, weight resistance seals, and even explosives. However, it was only the Uzumaki clan that modified the seals for the individual gain, and began to branch out more categories as well.

Izuna had practiced the basic seals for the ones listed until he perfected them into tags. However, it was the weight resistance seals that he modified for his gain. He had painted them over his skin after his father's and the elder's approval, and he would begin his running with the added weight over his body. Every time it became easier to run, he would modify the weight in the seals by adding more chakra. More chakra made the seals heavier.

Diffusing the chakra from the seals meant releasing the weight.

His speed improved drastically.

Another thing he improved greatly on was his sensory.

He had been chakra sensitive ever since his chakra first became developed. It was how he had always been able to find his brother's why he was playing ninja tag, and it was also how he found out Madara's secret. However, he had heard from his father that past Uchiha warriors who were spoken about in legends had been able to sense more than chakra. They were able to sense affinity, the level of strength by their reserves, and also the distinction of what clans they came from.

His father had told him to meditate, but it merely helped him sharpen his range rather than his focus. With more meditation came more awareness of the chakra around him, and in turn, his range would expand from meters to kilometers, but his focus of chakra was still lacking.

He could tell how many shinobi were hiding out in an ambush six kilometers away, but he was still unable to tell how strong they were or what they specialized in. If only he did then he could prevent more casualties to their clan.

It was only when he had went with Madara and his father to a neutral, civilian village that he had first seen the Uzumaki and had managed to gain knowledge from the matriarch of the clan.

He found them timeless.

The Uzumaki clan was a matriarchal clan rather than the rest of the patriarch clans; such as the Uchiha and Senju whose clanswomen were mostly benefiting the clan through chores, healing, and preparing meals. Instead the Uzumaki produced more woman rather than men which made the ratio uneven. It was why the family allowed marriages outside of the clan. It was also why when the Uzumaki woman married, their children passed down the Uzumaki lineage rather than the spouse's surname. Unless of course the women decided otherwise.

Not even father dared to disrespect the women in their battle kimonos and piercing gazes with degrading comments of their expected gender roles. No one would be that foolish, and Izuna respected anyone that his father didn't dare insult.

Their hair were different hues of crimson. The brightest red reminded him of the fresh blood that spurted from a punctured artery. The deepest maroon reminded him of the old blood that coated the evergreen in the forest. Their skin were also of different tones. The palest woman's skin was reminiscent of the waxing moon, and the tannest woman's tone was a creamy brown that reminded him of the sunset when touching the maple bark of the trees. They were all beautiful but deadly, elegant in their movements but tense and calculating when they noticed the Uchiha clansmen of five heading towards the market.

When Izuna got closer, he openly stared at them. He was only a child of eight, so it didn't mean much. Especially when he was observing them to see the infamous seals that they were feared and revered for. However, what he got in return for his observation were the Uzumaki children huddled in the middle. They were girls. Two along with one red-headed boy, who was huddling close to one of the woman's legs.

The girl's were openly staring at well. One of them had violet eyes and the other had obsidian irises that painted her pupils into an entire black. When they noticed that he was staring, they tentatively smiled, and Izuna smiled back, taking that as a friendly invitation.

He began to walk towards the Uzumaki. They were close to a tea stand where a merchant was bolstering about all of the different beneficial remedies that each herb had. The girl's tugged excitedly on the battle kimono's of the Uzumaki women, but they didn't look back and simply ignored their children.

Izuna doubted it was from lack of awareness.

He felt Madara's signature following close behind. "Izuna, what are you doing?" His voice was a fierce whisper, slightly panicked. Especially when he felt his father's signature spiked in warning. Izuna looked slightly back to see his clansmen staring at them curiously. They didn't seem nervous like his father. Just curious as to what Izuna and Madara were doing.

Izuna wanted to look at seals that weren't the basic forms of storage seals, chakra restriction seals, weight seals. The Uzumaki clan usually never leave their territory at the Land of Whirlpools. From what Izuna had heard from merchants, he discovered, that in actuality, the matriarch clan were in the middle of creating their village; a village that wasn't only clan based.

Instead, they had ideas that were deemed strange by other clans.

They had an idea of creating a village that included civilian and unaffiliated shinobi into their village: Uzushiogakure. He was curious about this. They were thinking in ways that was deemed abnormal in their society. Just like how fuinjutsu was an art that was deemed unusual in war, and yet, they were highly proficient at it. Their seals could produce any elemental affinity or release a highly deadly genjutsu. It could manipulate and produce anything that the imagination could create, and the imagination was endless.

"They're close to my age," was Izuna's only reason.

"Father would not approve," Madara warned.

"But it's been awhile since I've seen others around my age."

Madara paused, tensing slightly with a frown., but it played well with Izuna's act. Madara was frowning because he knew Izuna didn't relate to anyone his age other than Madara. Izuna was acting sad because the Uzumaki women have grasped a reason for his actions when they thought he didn't know they were eavesdropping.

"Izuna, we can't play ninja tag in a neutral village," Madara slowly elaborated.

It was the only game Izuna was really willing to play with the children in his clan around his age before they died in the battlefield. He only played it just to see the looks of defeat on their faces. It also taught him how to hide his chakra signature.

Izuna puffed his cheeks out. "I knew that."

Madara patted his head softly. "Come on. I'll buy you dango."

Izuna's gaze tentatively moved to the Uzumaki children before he uncrossed his arms and grabbed Madara's hand. "I don't understand why we can't play with other clan children," he muttered.

"Izuna," Madara's low voice was a warning, but there was something else in his tone as well.

Perhaps his words hit close to home. After all, he was still friends with that Senju boy despite not knowing him to b a Senju. The reason why it was a taboo was the same reason why Izuna's words were taboo, and Madara was feeling scared for him.

No doubt were their clansmen hearing, but Izuna knew that the Uzumaki were hearing too. One more nail to the coffin, but also a chance to gain their curiosity. After all, if rumors were true. The Uzumaki clan have always been or at least tried to be open-minded. It was the reason why they offered treaties and merchant routes to mostly all clans except those affiliated with the Uchiha clan.

And that was all his father's traditional fault.

The only reason why the Uchiha clan had to steal cargo shipments from the Senju or any other clans was because he was to stubborn and prideful to offer a peaceful hand to the Uzumaki, who have long stopped holding out a hand of beneficial trade. Izuna had learned that it was the elders as well as his father's influence that was the cause for that.

"I don't understand why children have to die too." Izuna tightened his hold on Madara's hand. "I don't understand tradition because all it does is hold us back from changing."

There it was again. His rational observation that his father had tried to stop him from speaking out loud in public with fists and pain since Izuna first observed the social norms and all its flaws in the system and in the world.

Madara's hand tightened around his smaller one before he pulled Izuna close. They were words that Madara had also heard. They were the words that were the reason why Madara felt so protective of him. His gaze looked angered, fearful, panicked. "Shut up, Izuna. You can't say that. Not now. Not when I can't protect you." His voice was low.

The similarities between him and Asuya were astounding. It was as if he was already living up to father's words whereas Izuna was pulling away from the loyalty of Uchiha. In his father's eyes, loyalty was the same as following blindly.

The Uchiha clan were at a distance at the blacksmith's tent just across from the Uzumaki, who were looking at tea. Madara pulled him down the road at a distance from both of them before he sat him down at the steps of the tea house and went inside to purchase dango. Izuna sat still as he stared boredly at the scattered trees as well as the small bed of moss covered rocks around a pond with koi fish.

Izuna blinked and got up as soon as he felt the slow movement of four chakra signatures heading their way. The three belonged to the Uzumaki children whereas the largest reserve belonged to an Uzumaki woman. It wasn't hard for Izuna to sense them since they weren't trying to hide their signatures, but it was the reason why Izuna moved towards the pond as soon as Madara walked out of the shop and handed him a stick of dango.

Izuna munched dully as he walked towards the pond until he was standing in the middle. The koi fish moved underneath him as if they couldn't believe that there was an intruder in their home standing above them.

Madara spread his body beside the pond, eating silently as he watched Izuna with curious eyes. "Izuna, when I'm stronger, you'll be strong with me, and then we can both do what's right by the clan."

"What if what's right by the clan is by changing?"

"What do you mean?" Madara frowned.

Izuna crouched down and nibbled on his dango.

He knew what the Senju boy and Madara always talked about. That dream that seemed possible but not probable. They must have thought it to be an idea, but Izuna found it to be realistic. It was a step into order and a step out of the traditional ways. However, to take that step out of traditional ways, it would take a lot f bloodshed. Izuna knew that the clan would need to take some convincing. They would only follow someone strong and respectful.

Madara would need to hold an iron will, and he needed to rip the influence from the elders away from the clan. That would be the only way to have the clan follow them out of tradition. Madara needed to get stronger through bloodshed as well as Izuna. Until then, they'd gain enemies from other clans.

Izuna didn't want the Uzumaki clan to be one of those enemies. Especially when the Uchiha already had a difficult rivalry with the Senju, who were as strong as them and would only become stronger as their children grew. Madara and Izuna needed to prepare for the worst— They needed to match or succeed any strength.

"I want to get stronger so that I don't have to hide," Izuna pointed out bluntly, but in actuality, he wanted to get stronger to protect Madara, to be useful to him.

Madara lowered his gaze. "I want to get stronger so that I can protect you." Izuna smiled, and it didn't feel forced. "You speak honestly, and tou-san. . ." Madara glowered, appearing angry. "Tou-san always tries to silent you. I think. . . He does it to protect you from the clan and the elders, but I think he also does it because he doesn't like your perception of the world."

How observant of his brother, but then again, Madara has always been observant. He always knew how Izuna perceived the world without much empathy. Izuna spoke of change because it was the most rational way of thinking. It was the objective viewpoint of evolving from a traditional setback, but Madara didn't fear it. He was open-minded to it. However, Madara's thinking was always subjective. He let his emotions and loyalty influence him.

It was why Izuna made sure to be Madara's number one priority. If ever the Uchiha clan became a priority above Izuna then he would lose influence on his brother to the elder's traditional thinking as well as the angered mentality against the Senju. Izuna held no grudges because the Senju lived parallel to their actions. Both were each others consequences. Madara thrived off of revenge. It fueled him just like the rest of the clan. Just like the Senju clan.

What a petty and peculiar way of living.

"I found them! Ka-chan! Ka-chan! Over here."

Madara looked startled. He sat up straight and stared at the three children who were running down the hill towards them. Izuna tilted his head and smiled. He pulled himself to his full height and began to walk towards the edge of the pond. However, he stopped when the young Uzumaki boy ran straight towards him and ended up falling into the water.

The boy cried out, and Izuna moved calmly to pull him out of the water by the shoulders. He waddled towards the edge of the pond, holding up the boy's entire weight before dropping him onto his feet. He was younger than Izuna, but when Izuna was about that age and height, he had already known how to water walk and tree walk.

"Are you okay?" Izuna crouched down to peer at the boy's lilac gaze. He was probably the sibling of the girl with the same eye hue.

The boy was staring at him open-mouthed before he nodded his head. "Uh huh."

Izuna peered up to the tall woman, who had been standing behind the boy the entire time. Her hands were clasped in front of her, hidden underneath the large sleeves of her battle kimono. Her lilac gaze, similar to the boy's, was gazing down at him calculatingly. Her mouth was tugged grimly, and her chakra hummed tensely, preparing to react to any sort of situation.

Something about the humming chakra told him that she held the children up as top priority. She'd do anything to protect them. Even if that meant killing him. The two girl's paused behind the Uzumaki woman warily since the laid back atmosphere was replaced with tension.

"I'm sorry." Izuna removed his hands from underneath the boy's shoulders slowly and stepped back, only to bump into Madara. Izuna looked back, eyes widening. He had been so focused on the deadly woman before him that he didn't notice Madara's own tense figure behind him.

He was staring at the woman, appearing just as deadly despite his age. He'd only grow to be deadlier.

"It is fine," the woman said, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for helping my child, Uchiha shinobi." Her voice carried swiftly. Izuna moved further back to stand behind Madara's shoulder. He grabbed Madara's sleeve, urging him to back down. "Allow me to introduce myself, Uzumaki Seira, matriarch of the Uzumaki clan."

"Uchiha Izuna, and this is my onisan!" He chirped out. He tugged repeatedly at his brother's sleeve, but Madara still didn't budge.

The woman's tense expression melted slightly at Izuna's instant cheerfulness. She looked to the two boy's with those same calculative eyes, but there seemed to be more of a fondness in them. "Yes, I've noticed."

"Madara. Uchiha Madara," His brother blurted out.

"Hm." The woman, Seira, smiled, but something about her expression seemed ominous and disturbed as she looked Madara over. "Keep your little brother close, Madara-kun," She finally said. She looked back to the two girls. "Would you like to introduce yourselves?"

The girl with the lilac gaze and the twin hair buns pulled herself forward with similar dignity. "I am Uzumaki Mito." She blinked up towards Madara before she looked to Izuna with a warm smile.

The girl with her hair down and pulled back into a half bun stepped forward. "I'm Uzumaki Rei." She grinned.

"Uzumaki Katsumo!" The young boy cheered as he was slipping off his soaked sandals.

The girl, Mito, looked back down to them standing on water. "How are you doing that? I understand the basic theory of water walking, but we three have been having trouble with our private instructor."

Izuna blinked before he looked to Madara, who gave a sigh and finally moved away from Izuna. "Great, you're going to get him started in his teaching mode."

It wasn't as if Izuna enjoyed it. He always explained theories better than their own instructors when Madara couldn't understand the basic form and had to adapt his own way. He was just more patient and observant than their instructors which was why he could help Madara without having his emotions rule his thinking.

"Madara and I had slight trouble too within the first two days, but we've realized it was mostly because of our larger reserves," Izuna started. "You three probably have similar difficulties as us. When one has larger reserves they have to adapt to using less chakra than they're used too."

Mito gave a slight nod in understanding. Her gaze was continuing to observe their feet. "I see, so it's all within the control of chakra. I'm noticing that you're using a thin layer of chakra, but it's different."

"Water walking is different than tree walking in the sense that one has to hold a thin stream of chakra that holds more flexibility than tension." Izuna waved at Mito to follow him towards a nearby tree.

The matriarch of the Uzumaki clan followed slightly behind. Her brow was raised. It was probably due to the fact that it was taboo to share information of any kind to anyone else.

Izuna placed his hand against the tree and began to pump chakra that slowly began to dent and chip at the wood. It wasn't enough chakra to blast his hand away, but it was enough to show them what he meant by tension and flexibility.

"When I use the same control that I had with water, I create friction against solid matter. This friction is due to the flexibility that I'm exhibiting from my chakra to adapt to the dents and chips within the bark. It's like when a sensor uses their chakra to create sonar waves. Chakra bounces back and forth to mold or map out locations. This only works when matter is not solidified; such as, water or air."

Izuna removed his hand and placed it against an undamaged part of the tree. He then exhibited a small layer of chakra that stuck his hand like glue against the bark. "So what's the opposite of flexibility?"

Mito's eyes widened. "Tension." She smiled brightly along with the other girl, Rei. "This makes so much more sense. The use of tension against solid matter is like a thin extension of the sole of one's feet used to stick and push off of land. If one uses a flexible layer of chakra, one would go against matter and disrupt the tension. Of course, disrupting the tension in a controlled manner could elevate or enhance ones speed by pushing off earth, but water is flexible in an uncontrolled manner, which is why one must mold their chakra into an inflexible manner that adapts to the change of water."

Izuna smiled. "Yes. This is how we practiced first by calculating the amount of chakra needed before applying it to the soles of our feet and hands."

Mito placed her hand on the bark and began to stream her chakra before controlling it little by little. The same went for the other two children except the youngest seemed to be adapting the most due to his smaller, under developed reserves.

Izuna observed the Uzumaki children with a slight smile as he watched them improve little by little. Madara was sitting back against a shade of a tree, meditating but still staying alert just in case Seira, the matriarch, did anything. The woman moved towards Izuna's side with a smile. her lilac gaze looking at Izuna curiously.

"Izuna-kun, you are a peculiar Uchiha indeed."

Izuna gave her a hesitant tilt of his lips in question.

"I've noticed from the start by your chakra." The woman raised a brow. "Pure white. Untainted. You must be a rational soul. Even pure if it appears to be such a blank canvas." She gazed at him then. Her eyes a light, violet hue began to glow vividly, knowingly. He suddenly felt exposed. Vulnerable under her gaze that seemed to have figured him out. "You paint your soul when it suits you and not because it's unintentionally a consequence by external surroundings. You're in control of your emotions, aren't you?"

Izuna's smile faded. She didn't seem angry or disturbed by him. Something about her aura seemed composed and open-minded. Should he ask? Or would it be too uncustomary asking a favor from a stranger? What were the normal reactions in a situation like this? How should he respond?

"Don't be shy now, Izuna-kun," she warned. "You have manipulated your surroundings to come to this point. What do you want from me and what shall I receive in return?" He looked away, contemplating before making up his mind and meeting her gaze.

"You are a sensor then. I've heard that there were different types of sensors. You must specialize in sensing the persona in others." He stood straight, facade gone. "I'm chakra sensitive to the signatures around me, but I need help in focusing on the individual signatures to get a feel of their intentions, their abilities, and their strength in reserves."

"Interesting. It is within my ability," she admitted. "Sensors are self-taught, however. Nothing I can do can teach you hands on, but in theory I can help by giving advice." She looked to his wrist. "May I see the inside of your wrist."

He turned his wrist upwards to reveal one of the weight resistance seals he had improvised in.

"Was this self taught?" She asked.

"Yes. I manipulated and changed the kanji in order to benefit my needs more from the basic foundation of the seal."

"You have potential in fuinjutsu," she observed. "For a child your age," she added. "My daughter specializes in it more. She will be head of the clan one day unless she marries outside of the clan. She will need friends in high places when she becomes matriarch. After all, it is not easy in the world of men even for the most deadliest kunoichi."

"Is this a favor in return for advice?" Izuna asked. "To be allied with Mito?" He looked to the young, crimson haired girl. She seemed sharp for her age, and already was she beginning to climb up the tree after calculating the amount of chakra needed.

The matriarch continued to observe the seal, ignoring him. "You carry more yin chakra than yang chakra, but your reserves are still large for your age, and they will continue to grow until you hit puberty. To reach the highest potential you must train a lot in mind and body. You hold more spiritual energy which means you have the most potential in fuinjutsu, genjutsu, and sensory. Creation is your specialty, Izuna-kun, as well as observation."

"What is your advice to me?" Izuna asked.

"Those skilled in fuinjutsu studied and went through trial and error to perfect their own variation of seals. Those skilled in genjutsu observe the world and the individuals within. They observe behavior patterns and settings and use chakra to manipulate reality to an individual's own vague misconception of it. Those skilled in sensory meditate for long hours. When it comes to meditation you must clear your mind and your intention. When you look for chakra in meditation, you adapt and become receptive of chakra, increasing your range. That is one part. When you do not look for chakra, it is only logical that you become more aware of your surroundings, and in turn, your surroundings become aware of you. You will become aware of chakra when you hold no intention, no goal. All you must do is clear your mind and become one with chakra. When one understands nature chakra, one becomes aware of themselves and of each individual."

"Do you mean sage mode?" He had heard stories of such a thing merely from the Sage of Six Paths.

"Becoming aware of nature chakra is one thing." The matriarch smirked. "Absorbing it is another process. You can absorb nature chakra through a contract with summons and train in their ways in how to utilize nature chakra. You can absorb nature chakra through nature transformation. For instance, your affinity is lightning. If you train in your affinity and perfect it, then you can utilize your jutsu by drawing lightning from the sky to make your jutsu powerful without having to take any from your own reserves. Finally, you can also absorb nature chakra through meditation by balancing your yin and yang with nature chakra to create harmony within yourself. Some people call it enlightenment."

"If I focus on these three then won't my disadvantages be within the yang chakra. If I have an opponent with more yang chakra, who specialize in taijutsu and ninjutsu, then it will put me at a disadvantage," he observed.

"Well, won't they be at a disadvantage as well? It depends on the individual."

Izuna contemplated her words, finding truth in them. He had always been on the leaner side. Even his mother had complimented on how he carried more feminine hormones than masculine. So he knew that his taijutsu, although powerful in stance, lacked the strength in punches unless he chakra loaded it—which he thought was waste of chakra. It was why he favored speed and agility of countering and dodging smartly more than his brother, who fought head on with strength in his punches that knocked the wind out of Izuna with one hit.

He also needed to work on his ninjutsu. He had no trouble in perfecting the Uchiha signature jutsu, but his was significantly smaller than Madara's. It also took away most from his chakra reserves, which was due to the unbalanced yang chakra to his yin chakra. Now that he understood the analysis of himself, he knew where to improve on and where to excel on.

"Thank you." He looked to Seira. This was more than any of his private instructors had given him.

"All I ask in return is to make sure to not allow the Uchiha to turn down the Uzumaki clan when we offer a treaty." Her gaze narrowed into slits. "I assure you. It will be the last time we will ever offer a hand of alliance. Many from outer clans believe that because the Senju and Uzumaki share ancestors, the Senju are entitled to have the Uzumaki run at their beck and call and serve them in battle, but that is not that case. We do not fight in war unless we have personally been wronged, and we do not hold the Uchiha as enemies because your clan has not personally went against us for revenge nor did our clan to yours."

"You hold a strong alliance with the Senju, however," Izuna inquired, hoping she'd elaborate the sudden animosity that she was emitting. He had been one to believe those rumors. After all, he would mostly see some Uzumaki medic-nin helping out the wounded Senju. However, now that he thought about it, he had been seeing less and less of the Uzumaki being associated with the Senju. Had their relations deteriorated?

"I have a village to worry about. That is my family, and that is my home. Anything that threatens my home will answer to the Uzumaki, and those who bring more problems then benefits will crumble relations. My village is a safe haven from the Warring States, and we answer to no one but ourselves. It is time the younger generation put their differences aside and evolve as well." Seira narrowed hr eyes. "I've had enough of being involved in situations that do not concern my clan or I."

"My father is coming." Izuna's head whipped to the side.

She gave a nod. It seemed she had sensed his clan heading towards them as well. "Activate your sharingan, Izuna-kun."

Izuna looked at her curiously before he did as she said. His eyes bled red right at the moment she pulled back her sleeve. He glanced at the seal on her skin before he looked to her. His sharingan disappeared afterwards. "Why are you doing this? Being so helpful?"

"The Senju have always spouted on about the sharingan being cursed, but I don't believe it to be true," she started vaguely.

Izuna looked away, seeing the silhouette of his clansmen, who were getting close to hearing range. "I've heard the Senju comment about it, but there's always a rational explanation for such a thing." Another mystery that he needed to explore.

"Yes." She smiled secretively. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. After all, you have a special ability to think outside the box. It's your fate, isn't it?"

The Uchiha waited at the top of the hill with scrolls that had storage seals painted on them. They were finished gathering supplies it seemed, and it was their father, patriarch of the clan, who came down the hill for them.

"Maara, Izuna, it's time to go home." Madara opened his eyes. His sharp gaze looked directly at Izuna.

"Uchiha Tajima, is it not?" Seira, the matriarch, moved forward, and bowed her head slightly without taking her eyes off of him. Izuna narrowed his eyes at his father, who refused to bow towards the woman. A sign of disrespect. Seira raised a brow.

"It's been a while. You are a long way from home, Seira-san. A long way from your husband."

The woman's smile didn't leave her. Instead it became sharper, more twisted. Izuna's eyes widened slightly at the seductive yet dangerous smile, and he wondered if he could copy such a vicious beauty. He was beginning to favor this woman more and more.

"You have two fine young men, Tajima-san." She laughed. "I can't wait to see what the future holds for them, but I wonder. . ." Her smile faded before she looked from Izuna back towards his father. "If you'll be there to witness their potential."

She was the first woman, other than Madara and his mother, who managed to bring a smile from him that felt genuine rather than forced.

Izuna wondered as well.


	4. Chapter 4: This Is The Way

**A/N: Tobirama POV is next chapter!**

 **Also, keep in mind that this is AU. I am going to try to keep Narutoverse characters, well, as IN character as they can be. It's just that the Warring States Period in the Narutoverse will be expanded in my own version of events.**

* * *

 **The Origin of the Uchiha Curse**

 **Chapter Four: This is the Way**

* * *

 _"Smile because it confuses people. Smile, because it's easier than explaining what is killing you inside."_

 _-The Joker_

* * *

Izuna closed his eyes, feeling the cool salve smooth over his sensitive skin. When he felt Madara shift to his bruised side, he opened his eyes to gaze at his older brother.

Their father really had it in for Izuna when they finally made it back to the Uchiha village. It seemed that not only did he insult his family by teaching other clan children how to tree walk and water walk, Izuna also went against his father's strict orders and spoke his taboo thoughts out loud.

However, something was different this time. His father held an expression. It was an expression of fear for his own son. It was as if he saw Izuna as a monster.

Maybe. . . Maybe he was.

"You're not a monster," Madara's words were final.

Huh? Did he speak out loud? Izuna turned to his brother, who was bandaging his side with the same, hard expression.

"What's wrong?" Izuna asked.

Surprise entered his eyes. "Nothing." Madara looked away.

Izuna knew what was wrong. Madara had been visiting the river less. Now that Kazuma, Asuya, and mother were not here to keep Izuna company, it was as if Madara was taking the role as guardian. Was he scared to leave Izuna out of his sights? Izuna could understand to a certain point.

The Uchiha clan may be family, but they were ruthless. There was no room for the weak, and there was no room for those who did not follow tradition and orders. The Uchiha were a militaristic clan something that differentiated them greatly from a noble clan like the Senju, who had more money and more ties to rich, noble families like the fire daimyo.

Already Izuna was feeling the wary gazes of his family behind his back. He may be a prodigy child like Madara, who had gained infamy after slaying adult Senju, but unlike Madara, Izuna was prodigious in the way he acted.

"In the future, I need to return a favor." Izuna looked to Madara. "To the Uzumaki."

"I already know. The Uzumaki lady wouldn't have allowed me to eavesdrop the entire time otherwise." His gaze narrowed. "She looked afraid of me." Izuna nodded. He wondered why the woman had such an expression on her face when she was scrutinizing Madara for the first time.

"You're already excelling at taijutsu and ninjutsu," Izuna began. "You need to put effort into meditating or at least have a specialty in genjutsu."

Madara nodded. "We can practice with your sharingan. We can build a resistance to genjutsu. I'll also work on my speed. I'll use your seals, and I'll train you in taijutsu. You can't be dodging and avoiding confrontation forever."

Izuna gave a half shrug in agreement. "I'm going to take her advice on meditation. I don't need any distractions."

Madara gazed at him for a moment. "Fine," he said in agreement. "And Izuna?"

Izuna looked up.

"You're not a monster," he repeated more firmly. "You're my ototo, and the only monsters are the people who you see as evil. I'll always trust your words and your intentions because you're different. You see the world for what it is."

Izuna rarely witnessed Madara baring his thoughts so openly. All Madara would do would promise his intention to protect Izuna, but Madara was a simple but easily unpredictable soul. He was a blank canvas, like Izuna, but unlike Izuna, Madara could be tainted any color easily.

Any color of emotion would be difficult to be blended with something brighter or washed off all together. So it would fester. It would fester and spread out to all the blank spots within the canvas. Madara saw the world for what it was, but he would ignore it in favor of ambition and will.

Perhaps, in a sense, all Uchiha were like blank canvases, once brightened with light colors until one blend of black changed the entire image into something negative, and a blend of black was hard to paint over and hide with something bright and cheerful.

The next day, after Madara had gone early morning towards the river to visit the Senju, Izuna set himself, cross-legged, on the roof of the main house. He stayed there for hours, keeping Seira's words in mind, but it was easier said than done. He was concentrating too much on the external forces around him, and in turn, his range became greater— to the point where he was able to sense a mile ahead of him.

On the third day, Izuna began to focus internally rather than externally.

He circulated his chakra, slowing the flow down, pulling everything away until it was circulating and churning within his core. His wrists were facing upwards on either of his knees in his meditative stance. With the precision he was executing, Izuna was beginning to lose awareness of what was around him. He didn't fight it this time.

He was dragged into himself, feeling nothing around him like he usually could. The sound of people chattering, of patrol running across the rooftops, of dogs barking was nonexistent. He couldn't even hear his breathing. Even the sound of his humming chakra was dying down.

There was nothing but darkness.

There were no thoughts. There were no movements. There was nothing; in the nothingness, he found something.

In the sound of silence, there was weightlessness. It was like being enveloped in water, staring up at the surface. Was this what he had felt as a newborn? Submerged in the pressure of water, feeling safe in the womb of the world where darkness was his only companion.

 _"You were molded by it."_

His hand lifted in the oppressing silence. The movement was slow in the pressure of water.

 _"You were born in a place of no light with darkness as your only embrace."_ The words surrounded him were like an oppressing lullaby.

His gaze widened.

Uchiha Izuna was born in the darkness.

Crimson eyes swirled ominously in the deep abyss, and he was pushed downward. Gravity weighed him down into the void, and as Izuna was weighed further down, he was pulled out of the surface of the abyss. It was as if the underneath became the surface, switching the angle upside down until he was gazing upon the reflection of himself.

The two tomoe that had born in the event of his little brother's death swirled ominously in his reflection, and slowly, but surely, the two tomoe divided into three. A mature sharingan.

The background of his reflection began to transgress into something blank. He was molded by darkness; darkness was the world, and he adapted to it. This was him.

This was his chakra, and he was completely in control of the signature of his persona. It thrummed like the receptive metal that blacksmiths sold too expensively for his tastes. It felt alive. Something he could taint however he wished in order to suit external forces.

Seira, the Uzumaki matriarch, was right. Rarely did he have external forces taint him— if only temporary. His mother, Kazuma, Asuya, Madara were the exceptions.

Izuna slowly pulled himself out of his subconscious until he was staring at the trees before him in the courtyard. He gazed down at the perched birds on his arms and wrists. The crow tilted its head side to side in order to peer up at him with all knowing eyes.

His chakra was still gathered in his core, controlled internally with skillful precision. Izuna leaked a little out of his system, and his gaze widened at the overwhelming awareness around him. This was nature chakra then. The yin and yang that made an individual for who they were.

The crows on him and around him cawed before they drew away. Their wings widened and they pushed downwards, bringing them up into the air where they glided in a circular vortex above him. Their chakra was pure and untainted, like the trees and the earth around him. Not only that, but the warmth and the light of the world was easily outweighed by the corruption in the individuals.

The signatures of everyone around him began to override his senses, and he leaned slightly forward, taking in each persona and each individualistic signature, as if he was pouring over scrolls and cramming information into his mind and memorizing it within the span of a minute. He felt dizzy, overwhelmed, and he collapsed forward, falling into an uncomfortable slumber.

When he had woken up, it was in the arms of his father.

The man was staring down at him as he gathered Izuna in his arms. Izuna perspired profusely. His clothes clung to him, yet he felt cold. Izuna passed out again with a shiver, falling into the same comforting silence.

The second time he woke up, he was on his futon, staring up at the wooden ceiling with groggy eyes. Something damp was on his skin, and as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, the damp cloth fell onto his lap.

He looked towards the unsettled signature beside him. His father's chakra had an ashen scent to him, like a controlled flame that hid the underlying tension of his temper. The chakra was filled with overriding instability, and it made Izuna draw his chakra into himself in order to avoid something so disturbing, like his father actually caring for his well being yet fighting the urge to hurt Izuna. Even his chakra was a conflicting mess, just like his father's persona. This was what Seira meant about being aware.

His father was sitting cross-legged beside his bed, gazing at an open scroll in silence. When the man glanced up, Izuna gave him a mocking smile. His father didn't smile back.

"You've been fighting a fever for two weeks. Who, in their right mind, sits on the roof for four days in the dead of winter without eating or drinking? I've warned you Izuna to not do a training regime without the elder's or my supervision." His words were cold.

They were always cold, but sometimes, in the most rare occasions, they would hold concern as well. Izuna didn't care either way. Let his father be a difficult human being, it made no mental difference to him nor did it incite any feelings of loyalty or love.

Izuna's lips tilted up. It only took him an hour to perfect a similar expression as Uzumaki Seira. A deceptive smile that revealed a secret yet lead to an unpredictability of what that secret was.

"Tell me." His father narrowed his gaze. "What did you gain in such a foolish endeavor?"

"I think crows have taken a liking to me," Izuna gazed at the ceiling. His smile still in place.

"Crows would never get so near a human because they're smart enough not to." His father didn't relent. "It's abnormal."

"Yes, well, I think nature is aware of me as much as I'm aware of it." Izuna's voice was light and playful.

His father narrowed his eyes. "Ever since you've met that Uzumaki vixen, you've been especially strange. What convinced you to embrace this act instead of all the others?"

"This feels more real." Izuna pushed the strands of his long hair back. "Don't you think it's more real?"

"If one has to act their expressions then it's not real." His father began to stand. "I will have someone bring food for you. Rations have been low, and I do not put favoritism above the clan. You understand?"

Izuna nodded, ignoring his father's words in favor of his thoughts. He didn't feel like he was being ridiculous. He was acting like how he always had. It wasn't his fault no one could comprehend what he meant.

Those who couldn't comprehend his perception of the world were easily receptive to his manipulation. Why not make it enjoyable for himself since everyone was so boring? Except his oniisan. His oniisan was never boring.

When his father left the room, Izuna began to dress into his usual black clothes. He tied his hair back into a low ponytail. It had grown long, and he wondered if he should cut it, but as he looked at himself through the mirror, he realized that there was more wrong with him. He had lost weight.

He touched his pale cheek, but he paused when there was a knock on the door.

Izuna blinked, and as he did, he leaked a bit of chakra from his vast reserves. Under the careful suppression, his chakra expanded around him like the wings of a hawk gliding across the wind. He felt Madara's coiled signature.

A vicious flame of ambition that roared in front of him. The inferno of the sheer will of fire before him made his stomach clench in surprise. This was Madara's life force. His signature. His persona. This. . . This was his brother. He understood why Seira had looked so wary by this flame that could easily spread into a wildfire if ever scorned.

Madara stepped inside the room. "Izuna, you're awake."

He carried in two bowls, and he handed Izuna his own soup.

Izuna stirred the noodles and began to sip away hungrily. Madara watched him for a moment before he handed him his own bowl. "Here, have mine too."

Izuna glanced up. "Are you not hungry?"

Madara shook his head, and as Izuna finished his bowl, he took Madara's own. "They've only been keeping you hydrated through tea. You must be hungry."

Izuna nodded. His stomach was a vacuum as he inhaled everything within the two bowls. "Madara, my sensory range is within a mile."

Madara's eyes widened as Izuna put down his bowl.

"But you shouldn't be so surprised. I've known that you've been meeting with a boy from a different clan before my range has become so wide."

Madara looked around, as if to make sure no one was around to hear before he looked back to Izuna. "You. . . how long?"

"Before mom died."

"You didn't. . . tell anyone."

Izuna frowned. "Of course not. There was a reason why you didn't tell anyone yourself. Plus, he doesn't know, right? That we're Uchiha?"

Madara shook his head. "No. He doesn't." His brother cleared his throat before he scratched the back of his head. "Thanks to the weight resistance seals, I've been getting faster." He grinned. "He can't keep up."

"What else have you improved in?" Izuna asked, understanding Madara's eagerness in changing the topic.

"My ninjutsu. I've been doing elemental training behind the elder's back by trying to light leaves on fire." Madara picked up the bowls before he went towards the paper door panels. He pulled them apart to let in fresh air. "These damn crows. . ."

Izuna began to pull himself to his feet to sit with Madara outside in the open hallway. "What?"

"These crows. . . They've been gathering around the Uchiha territory lately."

Izuna gazed at the dozen of crows perched on the tree. Odd really. Why were they looking at them like that? There was one that was slightly larger than the others. It's beak was pointed forward, staring right at him.

Madara neared the tree, startling all of the crows as he shooed them away with an irritated yell. However, the one that was holding his gaze didn't move an inch. It cawed loudly. The noise an ominous lullaby. It haunted him throughout the day and into the night.

Later on in the night when everyone was fast asleep except for the patrol guards around the village, Izuna had opened pulled the paper panel off to the side again. There they were again, significantly fewer than from the morning, but they were still perched there. One, bigger than the rest, cawed before it swept down the tree and into the darkness of the woods.

Izuna scanned the area with chakra and began to creep through the night, masking his signature as he did so. He followed the bird's chakra signature, deeper and deeper into the woods.

Then there it was.

The crow was perched on a low branch. It cawed.

"Hello," Izuna began cautiously.

The bird moved it's head side to side to get a good look at him. Izuna sighed. Maybe he had been wrong, but the bird. . . It had eyes too intelligent for a simple creature. There had to be an explanation as to why they were around the village after he had left his subconscious to have the birds around him. Izuna turned back, ready to head out of the woods.

 _"I am the part of the bird that is not in the sky, who can drown in the ocean and yet remain dry."_ Izuna turned back startled. His hand was digging inside his pouch, ready to pull a kunai to whoever spoke, but instead the crow was in it's place.

It was staring straight ahead, wings fluttering. Then it opened its beak, and the same raspy voice spoke, _"I am a last vestige of man that refuses to die. In mourning I am tossed at your feet to lie; I begin my work early, devouring your ankles and thighs. I work my way up, eating your legs to your waist. And though around midday away I am chased, I return quickly to savor the arm of my taste,"_ The bird croaked out.

 _"As evening falls I enter your lungs, spiraling down past your mouth and your tongue. I feast on your body, your soul, and your mind, but as darkness falls you shall find that away I will go, a relief for some; At least until tomorrow morning comes. What am I?"_

A riddle then. Izuna opened his mouth. "You are a shadow," he answered after a moment.

In that moment, the crow's wings slowed in motion, and it spoke, voice getting raspier until it echoed a deep timber. _"A peculiar Uchiha in the face of night. One of a kind to be correct in a crow's rite. Riddle me this, riddle me that, I stand as extension of the crow's pact to offer the contract."_ It tilted its head. _"Riddle me this, riddle me that, interact with me and agree by making eye contact."_

Eye contact? Izuna blinked, meeting the crow's eyes, but nothing happened, and slowly, his eyes began to bleed crimson. His tomoe spun, and the crow's eyes tinted a deep red reflecting Izuna's eyes, and as Izuna's eyes reflected back, he felt the world around him still. Izuna looked around, eyes widening at the world before him.

The bark of the tree began to peel off, revealing the rotting flesh he had seen within the corpses in the battlefield that were days old. Maggots fell like bruised petals, coating the burnt grass. The shadow over the grass began to spread everywhere around him. Horrifying. Wrong. This can't be. The world before him wasn't real.

 _"What is right?"_ The same timbered voice of the crow echoed around him. _"What is wrong?"_

Izuna shuffled backwards. He was looking at his hands. His skin was melting off, sinking against his bones. His fingernails were slipping off and Izuna's back thumped against something hard, and on instinct, Izuna flipped back, throwing his kunai towards whatever had been behind him. He couldn't feel anything, he couldn't sense anything. It was as if everything were being blocked.

He gazed up to his target, eyes widening.

 _No. . ._

 _No, no, no._

 _Madara. . ._

 _"What is the weak in the eyes of the strong?"_ The crows words haunted through him as he watched Madara sink to his knees. Blood seeped out of his mouth, painting his lips into a soft red.

"I-Izuna-" He coughed out blood and began to fall forward.

Izuna ran forward, sliding to his knees as he held Madara up by the shoulders. No. Madara's lips tilted up. His obsidian eyes glistened. "It's alright. . . I-It's. . . okay, Izuna."

"No." Terror. He felt something grasp at his vocal cords. It clawed its way up his chest and clenched onto his throat, making it hard for him to even breath. So this was fear. "Madara!"

 _"What is duty against the memory of a brother's smile? What is pain but a consequence of love? Love,"_ The crow began. _"Our greatest glory."_

His sharingan swirled ominously into a different shape.

 _"And our greatest tragedy."_

"Kai!" Izuna cried out, flaring chakra into his entire system. He blinked away the illusion. Bark. He was holding onto a tree.

He closed his eyes and tried to compose himself. He couldn't stop the shaking nor the clenching of trepidation in his stomach. The blank canvas of his chakra was tainted. Tainted with fear and anger.

For the first time in his life, Izuna let an emotion overtake him. He had fell for it. The genjutsu felt so real. A mirror image of something Izuna had feared would happen deep down.

His fists clenched before he turned around to see a different pattern of sharingan on the crow. He'd never seen anything like it.

 _"This is the way to understand,"_ the crow encourage. _"This is the way. This is the way."_ The reflection of his sharingan began to swirl once again. The world melted around him. Centipedes and roaches coated his entire being. They ate away at his flesh. They burrowed deep inside, and laid maggots in his skull. The sensations of crawling underneath his skin, like an itch that couldn't be scratched, followed him all day.

The world around him was warped.

One moment he was staring into the empty sockets of his brother. He watched the dried blood coat underneath his eyes, gazed at the void where those obsidian irises used to be, then he would blink it away to see Madara's confused gaze staring at him in its wake.

At first, he couldn't tell reality from illusion.

He would perspire late into the night, watching his dead mother crawling towards him in sporadic movements. Blink it away, blink it away, then it would all fade away. A mantra that he would chant, but even the mantra wasn't enough.

He was going crazy. He knew it. It was one thing in convincing the mind that it wasn't real, but it was another in where he'd have to dispel the genjutsu all together.

It was getting more difficult with each succession.

At first he was able to flare his chakra in a quick burst and dispel whatever genjutsu the crow had cast with the reflection of his sharingan, but the genjutsu became stronger and more realistic. His senses were falling into the misconception of his illusions.

The physical pain, especially, was becoming more real.

He would look at the peeling walls of his room, dripping blood and skulls of those he had killed and those he had lost. He would let them drive their swords into him, gain their petty revenge, and he would finally, finally, see the fourth wall. There it was. The faint chakra that coated the illusion.

It was like a spider web being weaved faintly. Cut the thread. End it. As he would see the thin layer of chakra, he would flood a minuscule amount into his eyes, and blink it away to merely see the wooden panels that made up his home. Blink it away, blink it away, then it would all go away. Finally, the mantra worked, but where the mantra was merely a silly verse to think about in hopes that the genjutsu would dispel, now it was calculating. He would fluctuate his chakra in a controlled manner in order to weave away the spider web of the foreign chakra, and then he would dispel it with a mere blink.

After months, he didn't even have to blink it away. The resistance to genjutsu was his indifference to reality and illusion. Let the world be manipulated and let them see the indifference he had. By then, when his dead mother would crawl and curse him with rotten teeth and maggots slipping off her tongue, he would merely go about his daily business, swiping away the genjutsu as he would walk through her.

When the enemies he had slaughtered in battle would pin him to the bed ad mark him with the very fatal wounds he had inflicted on them, Izuna wouldn't so much as flinch. The pain was immense. He used to tear up before, as he used to whenever his father had hit him too hard. However, pain, as his mother once said, was an obstacle.

He had looked passed it.

Almost found pleasure in it.

He would smile whenever they would draw blood from it, and he wouldn't be faking it.

The sensitivity to even a faint or lingering amount of chakra was also something else he gained. He could feel and see chakra everywhere. This in turn helped him to go to the next level with his father, who upon Izuna's request had cast a genjutsu on him that only lasted five minutes.

Five minutes in the genjutsu.

And one second in the real world.

His father had been shocked when Izuna didn't even as so much as flood his chakra nor vocalize the dispelling of the genjutsu. From then on, his father took him to one of the elders: a woman of the age of fifty. She was old and weathered and would sneer at everything Izuna would say or do, but she was a respected woman who saw potential even if it was in an indescribable child like Izuna.

She was one of the very few who had fought alongside her fellow Uchiha shinobi, committing to strengthening her repertoire in genjutsu rather than committing to marriage a children. Uchiha Mayuko, a genjutsu specialist who had cast a genjutsu over a hundred samurai and clan members of the Kaguya clan that had banded together under the daimyo of the Land of Water in contract for the war against the fire daimyo.

Mayuko was blind due to the overuse of her mangekyo sharingan, however, that didn't make her incapable of casting genjutsu under genjutsu on Izuna. She didn't teach him any jutsu, but she did help build his resistance and sensitivity to chakra, and Izuna drew inspiration from her vividly, grotesque genjutsu.

And through it all, Izuna observed the way she would cast genjutsu without even using hand seals. Izuna wasn't at that level yet. Whenever he needed to cast his genjutsu, he would have to go through the hand seals, but he doubted that would be for long. The thing about hand seals was that it wasn't required. It was just a process that used sequence in order to guide the user along in activating the chakra in different variations to activate a certain jutsu. If one didn't need to use the sequence, then they had it memorized in their mind.

 _Know one's fear and use it against them._

 _Know one's greatest pain and inflict it upon them._

 _Destroy one's will to live by giving them the tools to end it._

That was what she had given him, and it was enough for Izuna. He liked to find his own way in gaining strength and knowledge. Advice was all he needed to get through such a life.

He wasn't the only one who was exerting themselves to go past their limits. Madara was different in that it was taking less and less for him to loose his temper. He would merely sneer or scoff, which Izuna observed to be more degrading to his peers than the usual childish tantrum.

He was already going on par with the Uchiha adults in taijutsu, who had accepted in training him with their sharingan. Since Madara didn't have a sharingan, he trained without it, exceeding expectations and his limitations. He was becoming as fast as the average Uchiha teenager and his punches were beginning to rattle bones and rupture skin.

Izuna wondered how it would be when Madara finally did get his sharingan.

* * *

Six months had passed after his training with Mayuko was officially over, and it wasn't because she had nothing else to teach him. Unfortunately, she had died in her sleep. _"A peaceful way to go,"_ said one of the Uchiha during the funeral. Izuna snorted at that. Peaceful? The woman had killed herself with one of her genjutsu; suffocated herself against her pillow when she did so.

Izuna knew.

He felt her fluctuating chakra throughout the entire night from across the village. She had purposefully disrupted he dreams and unbalanced her chakra. He wondered what she had cast upon herself. He wondered why she waited until she was old to do it.

Either way, Izuna was left unsatisfied with how abruptly training with her ended for him, but he had gained his knowledge and experience. Perhaps his mental health was a bit warped. After all, whenever he so much as got a graze from a kunai he'd grin rather than cry out in pain.

And why was he thinking about that while driving the end of his katana through a Senju's throat?

Mayuko was an annoying, old lady, who would cackle whenever Izuna would continuously fall under her genjutsu. Layer upon layer of torment. She knew his weakness, saw it in the excitement he would show whenever Madara would make his appearance to save him from her tyrannical training.

She had used his weakness against him. Made it so that Madara would die and betray him in rather imaginative scenarios. It never got old.

It was why he was so desperately looking for Madara somewhere in the disarray.

The chaos ensued around him. Bodies fell and coated the earth with bits of ruptured meat and spilling intestines. Others were pinned to trees or hung from branches by chains or swords or seals.

The explosions rocketed through the air, erupting in blossoming fires of orange and crimson hues. His order was to stay alive and kill as many Senju as he possibly can. Not a very uplifting speech, but then again, the elders and his father were far from lightening the mood.

Izuna body flickered through the carnage as if he was playing hot lava back when he was a child. No. He was a child according to civilians, but the slight, carefree times back when his mother and the rest of his brothers were alive felt far from the present. Had it really only been a year since?

Time. Another peculiar mystery. Stop thinking about time.

He locked onto the signature advancing from behind an unaware Uchiha, and Izuna body flickered towards the signature. His sword sliced through flesh. The rupturing of flesh and the cracking of bones resonated from the handle of his sword to the tight grip of his hands. It was similar to when Madara had cut him in half in one of the genjutsu of Mayuko's. Blood rained down, pain felt immense, and through it all, Izuna would laugh.

He laughed now, whirling back and pushing force as he sliced through the bottom half of the man, who weighed thrice and lived too see about three decades more than Izuna. he heard the shaking of his breath, startled by who had killed him. As the light faded from his eyes, all he saw was the same, serene smile on Izuna's face.

Blood spurted cleanly in a horizontal line on the tree and grass, but it poured on his clothes and on his skin. He inhaled the metallic sent that sprayed in the night sky, and he moved on to his grieving partner, who lost focus on the Uchiha he was currently battling to try and gain his revenge.

Was he a brother? Was he a friend? A lover? Izuna used to have a brother. He used to have four. Now there was only one alive. He'd keep him alive. To his last dying breath.

Izuna's sharingan wielded, stopping the Senju from advancing any further. The man screamed. His vocal cords tore through the air, and he began to claw at his skin. Unfortunately for him, he still had his shuriken between each knuckle. It tore through his skin and eyes, but the man kept scratching. He kept digging.

Izuna moved to the next person.

In the darkness of the night, Izuna only had his sharingan and his senses to guide him, but Izuna was still young with underdeveloped chakra coils. The sharingan was wearing him down, and so he deactivated it. He only used it whenever he wanted to amplify his genjutsu, but as a child of nine years with a developed sharingan, he wasn't ready to use it in its fullest potential.

He breathed heavily as he made a quick diagnosis of his chakra reserves. He was treading dangerously less than half, which wouldn't do in the unpredictability of battle. He made a quick mental note of his inventory. Three chakra suppression seals in case his father wanted to take any prisoners, five kunai, four shuriken, his katana, and one explosive.

It was more than he thought he'd have since the battle has been happening for more than one night without any restocking. The Senju clan had planned to ambush the western stronghold of the Uchiha that held the western frontier of their territory. However, the Uchiha had managed to have an advantage over them it seemed: a sensor whose range was a mile. It was more than any other ones in their clan.

Luck was on their side when the western stronghold had barely gotten a shipment of weapons from a nearby merchant village. Since the Uchiha made trades with silk and clothe, the merchant village that was mostly composed of blacksmiths had asked for a nice sum in exchange for kunai and shuriken.

Unlike the Senju, a noble clan, who could buy their way through by being in noble families favors, the Uchiha had to work in order to gain additional interests, and the Uchiha seamstresses made mostly fine kimonos or even battle clothes.

It was another annoying pride in tradition. Izuna didn't understand why they couldn't just make a contract and gain more benefits with the Uzumaki clan rather than trying to make momentousness deals whenever the Uchiha run low on supplies. It made them predictable and more vulnerable to attacks.

This, of course, had earned him a slap by his father in front of the elders, who sneered down at him as if the mere idea was taboo. Izuna just thought it a more intelligent path to take, and Madara had openly agreed. For the first time ever, Madara had spoken out in front of the elders. However, unlike Izuna, Madara was merely given a calculating look.

Did they take his big brother more seriously than him?

Izuna glowered and flooded a bit of chakra out, focusing on his range as he did so. The Senju were falling back it seemed. Izuna glanced up towards the creeping dawn upon them. They were either going to lick their wounds until nighttime falls upon them again or they were going to retreat and give up on their failed ambush (which Izuna had predicted to happen before the Senju even set foot near the stronghold).

Izuna paused when he felt a familiar signature. Warm. Warm like the sun on his face during a windy day. It was so bright and unwavering that it could have left any sensor overwhelmed, and it did.

This. . .

Izuna latched onto the chakra signature, imprinting it into his mind without a second thought because this. . . This was Kazuma.

This was Kazuma running towards him demanding to play ninja tag. This was Kazuma, who had cried when his father ordered him to leave the stray puppy where he found it. This was Kazuma, who would sneak into his bedroom when he had a bad nightmare.

He reached forward, body flickering towards the small signature, and he was met face-planting against a weird hue of hair. Or rather two hues parted symmetrically down the boy's scalp: one was silver and the other was brown. Odd.

No. This wasn't Kazuma. This would never be Kazuma.

Kazuma was dead.

He saw him die.

Why did he think otherwise? His eyes narrowed. For a second, he wondered if this was another of his summons tricks or even Mayuko's triggered illusions, but it wasn't. This wasn't a genjutsu. He knew what he felt was real.

Despite landing against the boy (who must be Senju) and knocking both of them to the ground, where they spiraled down a hill and against a boulder, Izuna still felt that overwhelming feeling of nostalgia because this chakra signature was so parallel to Kazuma's.

Unlike Kazuma, the boy was about Izuna's age and the same height, but he was a boy like Kazuma. One whose flame was too bright in such a cruel world. He was too innocent to be fighting in war. He didn't belong in war. No child did. Not even Izuna.

But Izuna adapted to darkness because he was born in it. The world screamed before Izuna could, and it had always been that way. This Senju boy, however, was someone who shouldn't be here, like how Kazuma shouldn't have been there the day he died.

The boy was staring up at him, eyes wide and filled with tears. He looked like a scared fawn trapped between a boulder and a scary monster. Was Izuna the scary monster? Was he going to be the one to do it?

It was an unspoken law to kill any clan children outside of the Uchiha clan on sight unless it's within a neutral village. This was his duty. This was part of tradition, the predicted norm expected from him in society.

And Izuna?

Duty meant nothing to him. Law meant nothing to him. Tradition meant nothing to him.

The Uchiha and the Senju's feud meant absolutely nothing to him.

So when he stood up, lips tilting up into a friendly smile and eyes of crimson inviting the opposite, the boy pulled himself up against the rock, katana in his hands shaking in fear. He was breathing heavily, eyes wary, and lips trembling.

"You remind me of my brother." Izuna dug into his pouch, paper seal brushing against his fingers.

The boy stilled. "Wh-What. . ." Even his voice was warm. Despite the fear that shook in his voice, it still had a curious lilt to it.

"He died with a sword to his chest by one of your family members." Izuna lifted his other hand, smile growing wider as he pressed the pads of his fingers underneath his eye gathering chakra to it. "I saw him die. I couldn't protect him."

The tears that had gathered around the boy's eyes through fear, slipped down through sympathy. Izuna understood this emotion, but he had never been able to sympathize with others. It was a numb awareness, like tilting one's head underneath the water and clogging one's ears with it. Sound was distorted, diluted by the barrier of water. There was a barrier between him and others as well, but it was much thicker than water.

"I'm sorry," the boy finally said, and Izuna knew he meant it because it was the typical behavior of humans.

Izuna's smile slowly faded away. "My family is coming to kill you." He could sense them heading forward. Five of them. One of them was his uncle: Kei, a sensor through smell. They must be wondering why Izuna was just standing there doing nothing to the significantly smaller chakra.

The boy tensed.

Izuna remained unperturbed as he pulled out the chakra suppression seal. "Your suffering will be temporary, but don't worry." The genjutsu was complete. "You'll live."

The boy screamed.

There were many acts that his family wanted him to adapt except Madara. Their father wanted Izuna to be emotionless. Asuya wanted him to be sensitive to people's emotions. Their mother wanted him to be darkness.

But Kazuma. . .

The little brother who looked up to Izuna. The little brother who admired him and loved him.

He understood now.

Kazuma just wanted Izuna to always be his big brother. Like Madara, he loved him for who he was, and Izuna stopped himself from seeing such blind adoration. If Kazuma was here, this was what he would have wanted. Perhaps, that Senju boy had the same views.

* * *

 **Okay so there are a lot of time skips in this. Probably a lot of grammatical/punctuation mistakes as well, but developing time is over and Tobirama is next and ahjsbdlcnldk.**

 **Anyways, I'm pretty eager to move on and get this out of the way, so I could post next chapter.  
**

 **Plus, baby Itama is alive for now. Yes.**


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